Taking the Plunge
by Shenlong Girl
Summary: Trouble in paradise! The Doctor's really done it now, and his friends suggest a rather drastic solution: Marriage! Part of my Peril-verse, but prior knowledge isn't essential.
1. Henpecked

**Title: **Taking the Plunge**  
Author: **Shen**  
Rating: **PG**  
Characters: **Rose, Ten, Donna, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto**  
Setting/Spoilers: **No spoilers whatsoever. Part of my Peril-verse (see my profile). Recap of said 'verse is at _shengirl_ _dot livejournal dot com/8390 dot html_**  
Teaser:** Trouble in paradise! The Doctor's really done it now, and his friends suggest a rather drastic solution: Marriage?!

**Chapter 1: Henpecked**

It was a quiet day at Torchwood 3. Incredibly quiet. Owen thought he was being surreptitious about playing a game on his computer, Ianto was half-heartedly organizing their supply of cups by height in an effort to stay occupied, and Tosh at least seemed to be working on an independent programming project... interrupted frequently by trips to internet forums. Gwen's state gave Jack the most personal amusement; she was going over paperwork at her desk with drooping eyes. As he looked over at her again, her chin crashed into her chest and startled her back to temporary wakefulness.

Jack, of course, had tired her out the night before.

Slowly, a familiar whirring sound began to fill the office. On its heels, the TARDIS materialized, to the pleasant surprise of Jack. Not that its inhabitants iever/i called before stopping by, he thought in a falsely grudging tone. As he took a cheery step towards the blue box, its doors flew open, and out stalked Rose Tyler. Her expression was the likes of which made immortals take a hurried step back in fear, and he did. However, the abrupt clicking of his departing shoes caught her attention, and she looked up at him as if completely unaware of her surroundings.

"Jack! Hello," she said in a high, surprised tone. Then, she pulled him into a hug, taking an extra moment to snuggle and thus putting Jack at ease. At least he wasn't the target of her apparent rage. Politely, she commented, "Didn't know he'd drop us right in your office; sorry." Finally, the Doctor poked his head out of the doors, saw Rose there, and stepped out.

"But Rose-" he began, but her expression morphed back into one of heart-stopping anger, and she whirled around to face him.

"No amount of alcohol or chocolate can fix this! Just- leave me alone for awhile!" she ordered before walking away from him again. Jack took in the Doctor's kicked puppy look and quickly put himself between the Time Lord and his lover.

Leaning in, he gently explained, "Best let her be for now, Doc." There was much pouting. Fighting the urge to either roll his eyes or bite that pouting lip, Jack instead whispered, "What the hell did you do?"

"I... sort of... misjudged her physiology. A bit. There are a few enzymes you lot hadn't developed yet by this century, and I just got mixed up is all. Could happen to anyone. It's a bit like the problem some people have where they have super-effective, smashing alcohol dehydrogenase but acetylaldehyde dehydrogenase that's just rubbish. Except, instead of ethanol-"

"Doctor, what did you ido?/i" Jack demanded more firmly, though not unkindly.

"Oh, look, now she's gone! See what comes of you holding me up?" the Doctor whined. Jack spoke as he glanced around.

"She'll wander back when she's cooled... down. Did she kidnap my female staff again?" The chairs of Tosh and Gwen were suddenly empty. Also, with some dismay, he noted that Ianto was missing.

* * *

Honestly, Rose would have liked to do some of her girl talk with Jack, but she felt it was better to leave the Doctor with someone to talk to. He didn't get on with Gwen and Tosh as well as she did, and Owen... in any case, she thought it'd be fairest to borrow just the women, and Ianto had cheerfully tagged along.

"Hey, what time is it here?" she asked, walking at the head of the group as they exited Torchwood.

"Nearing lunchtime," Gwen answered after a glance at her watch.

Cracking a wry smile dampened by the hurt in her eyes, Rose commented, "Do you ever wonder what happened to the three martini lunch?" She chuckled awkwardly.

"That bad?" asked Ianto with some amusement. Rose sighed.

"Not good, but not sloshed at lunchtime bad either. Could use a pint, though; want to find a pub for lunch?" She'd turned to face everyone for the question, and she could tell by their momentary hesitation that they saw the look in her eyes. Stepping closer, Tosh put a hand on her arm.

"Let's, and you can tell us all about it, right?" she suggested with a gentle brightness.

"Yeah... I'd like that, Tosh. Thank you."

* * *

"Looks like she did, plus one. Ugh, maybe you're right; I'll let your womenfolk talk her down for me. I can't even get a word in edgewise to try, after all. Or they could possibly encourage her to be even angrier. Oh my. Jack, do you think we can track them down?" Jack put his hands up in a placating gesture.

"Easy, Doctor. For heaven's sake, what did you do?"

"This is special forces, not a bloody talk show. Are you really using company time for this?" Owen asked incredulously. Jack gave him a glare but answered with a joking tone.

"We help lost aliens all the time, Owen! And I'd say he's pretty lost."

"I let her be exposed to something that led to her kissing another woman," blurted the Doctor suddenly. There were several seconds of silence, in which two Torchwood personnel stared at the Doctor, and he stared into space.

"What."

"We were relaxing at a resort – just a weekend holiday. Best banana daiquiris on that side of the galaxy, and she said she could use a skin treatment because an excursion on Brentadiqual left her covered in ooze – You know the geysers? The natives use those as punishments – and it left her itchy. Not so good for the human epidermis. So we went, and we had a meal with a drink, and then we separated so she could go to the spa area and get her treatment..." Finally, the Doctor's rant trailed off. He glanced at the ground, and Jack's heart twinged for him. He was clearly very broken up about things.

"So it happened when you left her alone?" he prompted.

"Yes," the Doctor answered glumly. "Someone made an off-hand comment about the chemical in the drinks while I was out and about in the resort, and it hit me that I wasn't sure if Rose could process it. So I ran into the spa to see her..." he swallowed, "_kissing_ another woman. Rather a lot. Might've been tongue. Well, definitely was. Had to take her back to the TARDIS and give her something to counteract it." One part of Jack was struck with the implications of the scenario. For him, it would be another funny story to tell over lunch. But for Rose, to not only lose control of herself but to be taken advantage of by an alien that wasn't the Doctor, AND for that alien to be a woman, she must be feeling very violated. But another part of his mind...

"What species?"

"Vlanten," answered the Doctor distractedly.

"Ooooh..." His eyes glazed over for a second, earning him a sharp glare from the Time Lord.

"Jack!"

"Sorry. In any case, she's not going to want to see you for a bit, and I really can't blame her. She does trust you to watch out for things like that. Best leave her be and prepare a nice apology for when she gets back. And something that doesn't involve sex, please; I doubt she'll be in the mood after that."

"Thanks, Jack. But I'm not sure that's going to do it; she's been edgy for weeks! This was just the proverbial straw." Jack stared at him. He sighed and corrected, "Well, alright, the crate of Post-It notes that broke the camel's back and got her so mad she can't even look at me. Something else is wrong."

"Have you asked her?" asked Owen, now paying attention despite earlier disparaging remarks.

"'Have I asked' – Of _course_ I've asked her! I get nothing, every time." He furiously mussed his hair in frustration.

"You know, it's lucky Donna wasn't there. She might've killed you," Jack mentioned off-handedly. The Doctor visibly shuddered in response.

"Between them, I'd be regenerated for sure, at least once. Something gruesome, like... hair pins in my eyes and choking on the mountain of receipts Donna collects in her purse. Rose at least might have slipped me aspirin to end it quicker, since choking takes a long time with respiratory bypass. But Donna wouldn't approve of the mercy."

"Though," Owen interjected, "maybe it would've been better. Donna and Rose probably would have gone for each other, and it would have at least been them making out with women they know. Better than a random, loose alien."

Jack looked at the Doctor and bit back a laugh. One eyebrow was quirked while the opposite eye winced, and his lip was slightly curled. Meanwhile, he stared into space, clearly lost in the depths of his (unfortunately) vibrant Time Lord imagination. Envisioning his lover and his best friend, to whom he would be sure to say he was not physically attracted at all, thankyouverymuch. No accounting for the alien's taste; Jack found Donna's assets to be more than intriguing.

Owen intoned delightedly, "I think I broke him!"

Clearing his throat to shake off the last of the amusement, Jack asked, "Where's Donna?"

"She's having a visit home," the Doctor explained distractedly.

"When are you supposed to pick her up?" The Doctor blinked, pulled from his reverie. His eyes widened. Suddenly propelled into motion, he ran to the nearest computer terminal, shook the mouse to remove the screen saver, and looked at something.

"Four days ago!" Looked at the date, apparently.

"You're going to get it now," Jack teased, but the Doctor was hurrying back to the TARDIS and cursing in an untranslated tongue.

"These women will be the death of me!" he shouted out before slamming the Police Box door. It began to fade away.

"Henpecked," Owen remarked. He and Jack snickered.


	2. I Should do What!

**Title: **Taking the Plunge**  
Author: **Shen**  
Rating: **PG**  
Characters: **Rose, Ten, Donna, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto**  
Setting/Spoilers: **No spoilers whatsoever. Part of my Peril-verse (see my profile). Recap of said 'verse is at _shengirl_ _dot livejournal dot com/8390 dot html_**  
Teaser:** Trouble in paradise! The Doctor's really done it now, and his friends suggest a rather drastic solution: Marriage?!

**Author's Note:** Concrit and comments appreciated!

**Chapter 2: I Should Do What?!**

When Donna received a call from the Doctor telling her to leg it to the TARDIS, she tried to ignore the flat tone of his voice. When she swung the doors open, it was with the full intention of verbally tearing apart its pilot, or at least pretending she was going to until she was promised a shopping trip or something in penance. Really, she understood that these things happened, but she had a reputation to upkeep. There were even a few great insults lined up, such as, "better off hauling a tuk tuk," "bananas-for-brains," and a comment about inhaling too much blonde hair dye affecting his steering. Rose was generally a good sport about hair jokes, and they both knew he liked to sneak sniffs of her hair when he thought Donna wasn't looking.

However, when Donna opened the TARDIS doors, she only got as far as, "Four da-" before all the insults died on her lips. The Time Lord's shoulders were sloped, he looked miserable, and he was alone.

"What happened?" she asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice. Four extra days left at home, listening to her mother's nagging, and not even a good row to make herself feel better. Sometimes, she cursed this conscience of hers.

He straightened and said with painfully obvious false brightness, "Miscalculated; sorry! I was... distracted when I was landing."

"Not that; where's Rose?"

"Cardiff. She's sort of angry at me. And by angry, I mean not speaking to me. Stalked off for a while." He had deflated a little while he spoke. Donna winced. It usually took a crowbar and Atlas to pry those two apart when one wasn't in the bathroom or sleeping, and sometimes even showering wasn't a solitary activity. If it weren't for girls only nights and Doctor/Donna TARDIS-flying lessons (she hadn't caught up to Rose yet), the redhead would've had them committed somewhere. So this kind of fight couldn't be good.

"Did you deserve it?" she asked, not unkindly. The last of his bravado leeched away, and he glanced at the ground when he answered.

"Probably." Donna gave a long-suffering sigh.

"Alright, Spaceman; tell me all about it."

* * *

"I so would have killed you," Donna remarked to the Doctor as the pair stepped out the TARDIS door. Then, she stopped and stared at the two Torchwood personnel. "What're you two sniggering at?"

"Welcome back!" greeted Jack, breezing past her question. "And Donna, a pleasure as always." She fixed him with another second's glare before relenting.

"You're lucky you look so good in braces, Leela." Jack bristled slightly, disliking the nickname. Because he was a man of the future, he'd earned the moniker of _Futurama's_ sassy pilot whenever Donna was peeved with him. The wrist strap didn't help his case.

"You have no idea how much I have to rely on that, _Fry_," he countered with a smirk.

"Jack, there is no end to the inspiration I can derive from your heroism and maturity."

"Shut up, Owen. Now, Doctor, I was thinking. You said Rose has been on edge with you a lot lately. Other than that, has there been any change in your relationship?" Looking at him, it seemed the Doctor was cheered somewhat by their antics. Jack was pleased, and knowing the Doctor, getting him working on a solution would pull him out of the rest of his funk. Now, the situation was just a puzzle, like so many things in his long life, rather than an impossible conundrum, like women usually were.

"Nope," he answered gamely. "Traveling and running and everything like always, just the same as before she left, except Donna's along. And she loves Donna."

"We prank him and everything. I don't think he uses the loo anymore without checking behind the shower curtain first, the number of times we've put noise-making things in his tub," Donna explained with relish. It earned her a glare from the Doctor, but Jack just made a humming noise.

"That might just be your problem, Doc. You're acting like things were before you ever got separated, when she had her mother to return to and a place on Earth if she wanted it. She may not have ever wanted to go home for good, but it was there should she ever have to. Now it's not."

"What're you getting at?"

"I think I know," Donna answered for him. Then, with a total lack of delicacy, she explained, "He thinks you should marry her."

"What?!" The Doctor's voice had raised an octave or two, and the word "incredulous" barely covered his expression. Typical Doctor reaction. "How did this get to marriage? We were talking about her being angry about this one thing! A proposal's kind of overdoing the apology, don't you think?"

Jack said, "Now, hear me out, Doctor! You said yourself that this is just the latest symptom of a greater problem. And like I said before, things are different with you two. Rose might want different things."

He sputtered, "But- but- she _said_ she didn't want to!"

"Maybe she didn't know she wanted to. Might've been the furthest thing from her mind. Women are allowed to change their minds, you know."

Owen chimed in, "It's practically their birthright."

"Well, how was I supposed to know she'd changed her mind if she doesn't tell me?" the Doctor asked plaintively, coming perilously close to a whine. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Doctor, you're kidding. Do you really think she'd bring it up with you?"

"Why not? I'm not a psychic!" He blinked at that statement. "Well, I am, but... I don't _pry._"

"Do you have any sense of how much bitching you did about domestics in your last body? The word was practically a swear."

"Actually, with you, it was a euphemism. When I was impressing upon you how little I appreciated your libido-fueled antics in relation to my TARDIS. 'Keep the domestics away from me, Harkness,' meant, 'No sex in the TARDIS, or so help me I'll drop you on the next planet we find that's set aside for chaste, religious contemplation.'"

Ignoring that tirade, Jack continued, "It makes sense that it would be getting to her, though. You go to a planet. What do you call her when someone asks who she is to you? Girlfriend? That doesn't quite cover it anymore. Friend's right out. And if you pretend to be married, well, what, is she only good enough to be your pretend wife when it's convenient? And it never crosses that vast mind of yours to make it official? I'm... actually completely talking out of my ass right now, but it could well be happening that way in her head." Everyone in the room was staring at him.

"What? You spend a few centuries interacting with women; you learn things."

Donna cut in, "Or you watch too much telly, and it rots your brain. But in this case, you might be onto something. Rose winces just a bit whenever someone actually makes you put a label to the pair of you. Probably because even she doesn't know what to call it. You're joined at the brain, for heaven's sake; what's the word for that?" She stopped to consider that point, then slowly turned back to the Doctor. "Do you want to get married, Doctor? I actually want to know." He was staring at her wide-eyed, and Jack new he was struggling to reconcile this new information with past experience, probably matching the mentioned situations with little bits of discontent that wafted off of his lover from time to time. After several moments, he answered.

"I... don't know."

* * *

He really didn't know. Thoughts of it hadn't drifted past his mind since the mortgage conversation on Krop Tor; it just wasn't a normal aspect of his personal worldview. Other people got married. Not him.

"Well, the way I figure, it comes down to this. She probably wants to. Does it make any difference to you?" He pondered. And he thought. And he gave a real, old-fashioned cogitation. It shouldn't make a difference, really. He and Rose were quite well-joined as it was. "At the brain," as Donna so aptly put their mental bond. He wasn't sure what some ceremony was going to change, except the title.

That fact began turning over in his mind. The aforementioned title confusion would be gone. Meaning Rose would be unequivocally his, obvious to anyone at all. Anyone who'd know what a ring meant. That might possibly be nice. It might keep the alien flirting down to a minimum, and a ring could be removed for the odd session of "distract the guard." And then it began to hit him that he actually did want to marry Rose Tyler. Or, at least, there wasn't a thing he could think of against it, and pros kept popping up. Maybe it would be a bit human. Okay, incredibly human, but that was all his consistent associations were made up of nowadays anyway.

"You know," Owen chimed in suddenly, "until you marry her, you're basically her sugar daddy." All cogitations stopped, and the Doctor gaped like a freshly-slapped fishmonger.

Jack, on the other hand, looked delighted at the point.

"He's-" he stopped to snicker, "kind of right, Doctor. I mean, she's legally dead. Entirely reliant on you. Unbelievably younger than you, and you're not married. Sugar daddy." The Doctor looked to Donna for help, but she was too busy trying to bite back raucous laughter.

"Well... we can't have that!" he finally managed. Jack finally calmed himself and spoke gently.

"You don't have to do anything about it now, Doc. Teasing aside, it's best not to be rash if you're not sure. Just something to consider. Now, if you want the address of a really great florist in town, I can give that to you for today's spat."

"No..." the Doctor answered, miles away for a moment. Then, he snapped back to reality. "We don't put things off if we know we want them now. That's our policy, Rose's and mine. She always says-" he choked "she says that life's too short. And there's not a single reason to not marry the love of my life, so you'd best help me start thinking of jewelers rather than florists."


	3. Popping the Question

**Title: **Taking the Plunge**  
Author: **Shen**  
Rating: **PG**  
Characters: **Rose, Ten, Donna, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto**  
Setting/Spoilers: **No spoilers whatsoever. Part of my Peril-verse (see my profile). Recap of said 'verse is at _shengirl_ _dot livejournal dot com/8390 dot html_**  
Teaser:** Trouble in paradise! The Doctor's really done it now, and his friends suggest a rather drastic solution: Marriage?!

**Chapter 3: Popping the Question**

Rose returned to the Hub at Gwen's side, laughing at a story that involved Jack, tiger-like aliens, and the largest ball of catnip-laced yarn she'd ever seen. All in all, Rose was feeling better about things. A quick sniffle in the pub water closet left her feeling calmer and cleansed, and a cheering series of stories from her friends took her mind off the situation. She was a big girl. An embarrassing and uncomfortable situation like the one that occurred earlier could be gotten over, particularly when there was lager to wash the taste of blue alien out of her mouth. A few lagers.

So she might have been slightly buzzed, but who could blame her? It's not like she made a habit of using alcohol as a coping mechanism, and at her age, that practically made her a saint. Or something. The point was, she'd left the Doctor so she wouldn't say something she didn't mean in her slightly traumatised state. Now she had cooled off enough to admit that the whole thing was an unfortunate accident; and she had to thank him for catching her before she went any farther with... with... whatever her name was; but he'd best never let anything like that happen again. (Making out with aliens before she knew their names... that's one she couldn't use on Jack for their next round of Never Have I Ever.) They could make up. Maybe have tipsy makeup sex. Their mental link always behaved interestingly under the influence of chemicals...

However, her relaxed laughter ceased when she noticed how Owen, Jack, the Doctor, and Donna were looking at her. Then, as they caught her catching them staring, they spun back to computer screens and paper files and conversations with each other.

Right, that wasn't suspicious.

A shared look with Gwen told Rose that she didn't know what was up either. Perhaps it was best to act normal until they could figure it out. With this crowd, it could be anything from bodysnatching aliens to the prelude to a prank.

"Donna, good to see ya! 'M so sorry we were late; I didn't even realize until I saw the date on a newspaper topside. Have a good visit?" she asked genially and relatively clearly, walking up to the older woman.

"Tardiness wasn't your fault, blondie; don't worry about it. It's this lump and his driving," she insisted with a thumb directed at the Doctor. "I'm surprised he can steer a go-kart on a closed track."

"Hey!"

"And my visit was alright." Donna smiled. Then, the Doctor stepped around her and grabbed both of Rose's hands. It was so sudden, Rose's fuzzy senses could barely track the movement. Still, she managed to focus on his face after a moment.

"Rose, I need to ask you something impo- Wait. Are you drunk?" He sniffed the air. "You are!"

"Just buzzed!" she countered defensively. Suddenly, the Doctor looked torn.

"You'd have to be, wouldn't you? My luck. You know, drinking is what got us into this mess. But if you're not very drunk, it's probably alright. You're a functional drunk. And you haven't had a lot. Hardly rat-arsed, or lashed, or steaming, or any of the other confusing euphemisms you lot have for the state. And ethanol loosens you up, but it doesn't change opinions. Actually, it makes you honest, so now might even be a better time to ask you! Important things are discussed over dinner and wine all the time! Things like this, even. So I think I will." Through all of this, Rose stared at him with a furrowed brow, deeply confused. The bodysnatching theory had fallen away; only the proper Doctor could rant like that. But she had no idea what was going on. And now he was reaching into his jacket pocket.

"No!" Jack said, quite suddenly attached to the Doctor's arm. Rose stared at him as well, now convinced that everyone had gone off their rocker. Jack gave her his dazzling smile as he let go of the Doctor's arm and patted it gingerly.

"You can deal with that nonsense later, Doc. Rose deserves a nice time out after her day; take her to these coordinates." Jack passed the Doctor a slip of paper, which he stared at suspiciously.

"I'm not familiar with these coordinates. And anyplace you have memorized like this worries me. What is it?"

"Trust me!"

Donna stepped up and added, "And I'll sit this one out. You two can pick me up after you work out your spat, thanks. I've seen enough drama on telly in my mum's house this week."

* * *

A sobering shower and cup of tea later, the TARDIS was nearly at its destination, and Rose walked into the console room. The Doctor beamed when he saw her, drawing a small grin in return.

"Good timing! Let's see where the good captain's landed us this time, eh? Seemed to think it would be romantic." He didn't understand it. Hours ago, he had been ambivalent at best to the idea of marriage, but now the thought of asking her made him excited and terrified at once. Not like it would matter if she said no; they would just continue as always. She wouldn't leave him over an embarrassing spa visit and an awkward question. Certainly not.

They walked outside, him almost quivering with nervous energy. After a moment, a green woman with webbed fingers, horns on her elbows, and a lot of leather walked up to them with a terrifying sort of smile. Not that she could help it, with all the rows of serrated teeth she had.

"Hello, and welcome to our colony! I'll help you arrange things for the duration of your stay. Will you need a starter kit? I see you aren't collared or leashed yet, Miss. Unless you'll need the collar, Sir? Who should I be speaking to?" The Doctor and Rose shared a moment of shocked silence. Then, he spoke.

"Um. I think we've landed in the wrong place; sorry! Must've been misdirected." He mustered a smile by thinking about what he was going to do to Jack for this. A BDSM colony; really! Only he would have a place like that on his vortex manipulator speed-dial.

The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and started to drag her back to the TARDIS, but she turned to call out, "Maybe some other time!" He stopped and stared at her, agape. Looking supremely amused, she laughed at him and gave absolutely no indication of whether she was serious or not. Minx.

Unsure of his feelings on the subject, he avoided it by rolling his eyes and dragging her along again, drawing more titillated laughter. Just hearing it made him smile, once he'd turned his head so she couldn't see. The merry feeling rolled from her mind to his and back, and he took a moment to bask in her mental presence, even as he shut the door and put them back in the vortex. Lowered psychic barriers could only mean that she was no longer angry with him.

"So, where to, handsome?" Rose asked cheerily.

"Nowhere. I just decided." He had spoken so suddenly that even he was surprised to find out about the resolution. So he elucidated, "This is our home and the progenitor of our deeper mental connection, part of each of us. She should hear this." He punctuated the statement by caressing the console and looking into it, receiving a jubilant hum in response. When he looked back at his lover, however, he saw eyes 100 focused on him, revealing love and concern.

"What on earth have you been going on about, Doctor?" He got on bended knee. A static of shock and confusion fizzled from her mind to his.

"Rose Tyler, love of my hearts. I told you once that you could spend the rest of your life with me. I wonder if you would do me the honor of making that official. Will you marry me?" With a flourish, he pulled a small, velvet box from his pocket and revealed a ring. It looked like a white gold band, just thin enough to be called delicate, with a deep-set, dark blue ceylon sapphire as the focus. It was oval cut and nestled between two princess cut stones that looked like diamonds until one saw how they shimmered. They refracted light in a way altogether more intriguing than the Earth stone. Finally, just beside the smaller stones, before the band thinned, was a tiny symbol made up of interlocking circles and other rounded shapes, one on each side.

Rose gasped when she saw it.

"Oh," she breathed. "That's... that's gorgeous! What's the symbol?"

"It's the insignia of my family's house, the House of Lungbarrow. The sapphire's from Earth, something of your planet to always have with you, but the symbol's Gallifreyan, like me," he explained in a soft tone. He had no last name to give her, not that he was sure she'd take it if he did, but it would mean a lot to have her wear the insignia of his family.

"Have you been planning this?" She sounded just this side of incredulous. Perhaps Jack had been right when he said that the idea of him being this domestic seemed outrageous.

"Ah- no. Decided today, and I just had this ring made."

"I was only gone for an hour and a half!"

"Might've made a trip to a jeweler and backtracked my timeline a bit. Wouldn't do to have you come back from lunch and find me gone. Then you really would have killed me, and Donna would have held me down."

"But... you don't..." Rose said, voice high and a little lost.

"Rose Tyler, you've crossed the Void between dimensions without a ship; you've seen a real werewolf; and you can't believe _this_ is happening? These 900-year-old knees can't take this grating much longer."

"900 my arse; those knees are barely four years old," she argued with a laugh. "Stand up." He did, watching her face expectantly. He noted with some alarm that she wasn't exactly smiling.

"Before," Rose started, and she didn't need to explain before what, "my greatest fear was being separated from you. I didn't think I could live after it. Now, I've been proven wrong; I know I can muddle on without you, even thrive professionally." Oh dear. The Doctor was getting very, very nervous, and any trace of a smile had faded from his face. Then, gently, Rose grabbed either side of his face, pulled him close, and pushed her mind into his, flooding his senses with bright, consuming love. It was warmth and light and trust, and he almost forgot himself basking in it. However, his lover's quiet but conviction-laden voice pierced his comfortable haze.

"But I never, ever want to again." She kissed him, hard, and he reoriented on the physical world.

"That's a yes, then?" he asked when they parted, deliriously happy.

"You great, gangly idiot, did you think I'd say no?" she chastised, eyes shining with the start of happy tears. She kissed him again quickly.

Then, she almost growled, "Anything to get you into that tux." Their lips quickly glued together, only separating long enough for the Doctor to slip the ring onto her finger. He let her have a few moments to admire it and giggle happily while he sampled her neck, her cheek, her ear, before claiming her mouth again. Nails dug into his shoulder and scalp as he backed them into the hallway, towards their room.

Getting married, the still-coherent part of his brain thought, was probably worth it. The stress of asking, even when made worse by cruel verbal tricks as utilized by his now-fiancé, felt entirely justified by the feeling achieved by an affirmative reply to the request. Euphoric, he'd call it. And the aftermath was shaping up to be rather pleasurable, too...


	4. Celebratory Shag

**Title: **Taking the Plunge**  
Author: **Shen**  
Rating: **NC-17**  
Characters: **Rose, Ten, Donna, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto**  
Setting/Spoilers: **No spoilers whatsoever. Part of my Peril-verse (see my profile). Recap of said 'verse is at _shengirl_ _dot livejournal dot com/8390 dot html_**  
Teaser:** Trouble in paradise! The Doctor's really done it now, and his friends suggest a rather drastic solution: Marriage?!

**Author's Note:** Please note the change in rating! This wasn't intentional, but the Doctor and Rose just kinda wrote themselves into some smut. I'm sure you guys understand.

_Then, she almost growled, "Anything to get you into that tux." Their lips quickly glued together, only separating long enough for the Doctor to slip the ring onto her finger. He let her have a few moments to admire it and giggle happily while he sampled her neck, her cheek, her ear, before claiming her mouth again. Nails dug into his shoulder and scalp as he backed them into the hallway, towards their room._

**Chapter 4: Celebratory Shag**

Rose and the Doctor broke their kiss, and he grabbed her hand to lead her to their room at a run. They giggled happily, caught in the moment and the novelty of running to something pleasant rather than away from danger. Bed in sight, the Doctor hauled his lover into his arms and dropped her onto it from a less than graceful height.

Once she'd stopped bouncing, she scolded him with a grin, "Cheeky old man!"

"Now, don't argue with your elders, young lady," he chided back before working his shoes loose, for once cursing his secure, ankle-stabilizing high-tops. Brilliant for adventuring; a terror in the bedroom. He heard Rose toe her trainers off onto the floor, and he shot her a predatory look. Standing up straight, he removed his jacket and loosened his tie before he could keep away no longer.

He crawled over her welcoming form, already kneeling between her legs, and she dragged him into a kiss by the collar of his shirt. Moving to massage his scalp with her nimble fingers, her tongue lapped and explored his mouth, and he let her lead for several moments before pressing the offensive again. They just kissed for a few minutes, until the Doctor settled his hips on top of hers and ground. A needy moan issued from them both, and Rose redirected her hands from his scalp to his shirt buttons.

Now their link was really coming to life; he could feel her desire and jubilation. It was like a drug, prompting another, slower roll of his hips into hers. It made her cease unbuttoning the shirt and cling to it instead. Next, the Doctor pushed himself up on one arm to tear off his tie. Then, he reached over his head to remove his shirt and toss it aside, shaking it from his wrists. With the intention of kissing her again, he leaned back in, but she was smirking.

"Forgot one," she explained. He looked down to see that he was still wearing a vest. Oops. Maybe he did wear too much clothing! The offending article was discarded in a second.

"Oh, no – you're taking too long," Rose teased, suddenly pushing him to roll over. He obliged, bemused. "Besides, can't have you straining those '900-year-old' joints too much."

"Hush up before I decide it's past your bedtime." Rose merely gave an arrogant rise of the eyebrow before firmly cupping his crotch in her hand and rubbing. He groaned and rolled his head back, snark abruptly banished from his mind. Now he was _definitely_ wearing too many clothes, topless or not, and so was she. Perhaps she could sense the thought, because her top and bra soon fell to the floor beside the bed. Her expression and the amusement wafting from her mind to his told him that his eyes must have lit up.

Suddenly finding himself straddled, he reached up to fondle her, one hand to each breast and thumbs rolling the sensitive pink flesh. Rose stopped and closed her eyes, hot human hands splayed across his abdomen and a contented humming issuing from her. A quick pinch drew a gasp from her lips and a wrinkling of the brow. Slowly, she bent over him and kissed him again. Evicted from their spot, his hands found fresh purchase on her sides, up her back, cradling her head. She pulled away and licked up the right side of his neck, passing over that one spot that always made him groan. Nips, kisses, and grazing teeth trailed down his chest, lingering over one nipple just long enough to make him squirm and let out a shuddering breath.

Next, his belt came undone. Rose glanced up at him through her eyelashes, hair tickling his stomach as her breath warmed it.

"I wanted to try something,"she supplied before grabbing his hips with her hands and putting her mouth to his trousers. Eyes closed, the button came undone with a few well-placed tugs, and the zipper followed suit. Finally, she dropped a sweet little kiss on his stomach. The Doctor stared. Rose had just undone his trousers with her teeth. He was not previously aware of this, but that was a very erotic act. He lifted his hips to facilitate her pulling his remaining clothing off.

"Yes? No?" Rose asked with a small smirk. Like she didn't know how that had affected him.

"Oh, yes," he breathed in the husky voice of his she so favored in bed. Quickly, he pulled her closer and undid her trousers, and moments after that they were both nude. Rose wasn't yet ready to give up the high ground, however. She shoved him down when he tried to sit up, and he was subsequently straddled again.

A fervent kiss passed between them, punctuated by hands squeezing her hips and a body wriggling against his anatomy distractingly. Her attentions migrated to his ear, teasing the lobe with tongue before delivering a firm nip. His hands slid past her bum and caressed her thighs, squeezing in time with the bite. Then, one hand crept back up her body and inwards, at last finding warm folds. As his practiced fingers first caressed softly, then explored her depths, all from behind, Rose let out a long, shuddering sigh. She moved forward to allow him freer movement and put her lips to his, voicing her pleasure into his mouth. Rather loudly, when he began to toy with the clump of nerves above (well, now below) her center. The Doctor teased and rubbed and pressed, reveling in every gust and cloud of bliss coming off his partner.

Then, she gasped, "Stop!" The Doctor disengaged his hands, and with effort, Rose sat up and shook off some of her pleasured haze. It seemed it was his turn; she fondled his member gently before giving it several good, hard strokes. Just as the Doctor's breathing began to elevate even higher, she stood his anatomy at attention and slowly pushed her body over it, causing a long groan to come from him. Her hands planted by his shoulders, and she moved her body up and down experimentally. Enveloped in moist heat and tantalized by the meager friction, he lifted his hips to meet her encouragingly.

A rhythm was soon struck, her gliding back and forth over his body and driving him mad with it. She would break up the action with a slower rolling of the hips, altering the angle and sensation, and twice she just _sat back._ It plunged him deep inside her and left him simultaneously glorying in the depth and angle and mourning the loss of her delicious motion. Each thrust or grind kept him breathing hard and his consciousness swimming near hers, melting together at the edges in pure ecstasy. He could feel how elated she was over this latest turn of events and the magnificent (her thought, not his) ring on her finger. Part of her was still caught up in disbelief, but this was no time to discuss it.

Instead, he made each rise of his pelvis a promise, each caress of her side or her cheek a reassurance that he would never let her go. His pleasure built, as did hers. Finally, she fell forward onto him and snogged him silly.

"Switch?" she asked, breathing heavily. He managed to nod and give, in a slightly unmanly octave, a "yeah!" He cleared his throat, then grabbed her shoulders and squeezed before rolling them to the side. However, after a moment's kissing, he backed away from her entirely.

"Turn over. Kneel and bend over the bed," he ordered huskily, standing up. At his tone, Rose received a fresh flush of arousal that shot right through their link. In a moment, she had herself in position on elbows and knees. He knelt behind her, gripped her sides, and slid back into her warmth. He didn't stop until he was nestled deep, and they both moaned at the renewed contact. Steady thrusts began, her rocking back into each one. He loved this angle. It let him plunge far, and even though he couldn't see both of Rose's lovely eyes at a time, there were other ocular benefits. On that note, he put his hands on her pert bum and ran them up her side and back, squeezed her shoulders, and moved around to her breasts. She fisted her hands in the duvet and arched her back, letting out a moan. His thrusts sped up as his hands did their work, until he suddenly bent over her. His weight pushed her torso to the bed, and he placed his hands over hers, fingers entwining.

She was entirely pressed to the bed now. Trapped, possessed, his. They ground out a fervent rhythm, punctuated by a hard bite on her shoulder. They were both gasping and moaning. But this wouldn't do; he was too close to coming, and she wasn't quite, so after another, lighter nip and kisses trailed down her neck and shoulders, he lifted off of her again. Still, her blood was on fire; he could feel it.

His right hand pulled back and slapped her backside. A shot of adrenaline from the minor pain rushed her system; it took the pleasure from his next, hard thrust and rocketed it sky high. She was whimpering loudly now. Next, with prompting from his hands, she pushed herself onto her elbows once more.

He reached around and resumed his attentions to her clitoris.

"Oh God!" Her back was arching again, and she reached back blindly to find his left hand. He gave it to her and smiled at how hard she gripped it. Firm pushes of his hips to hers, interspersed with finger presses and rubs, had them both panting. She was wound tighter than a boa, leg muscles twitching and breath coming in short gasps.

"That's it," he managed to whisper, "come for me, Rose. My love. My _intended._" And that was enough; she came apart around him, free hand fisted in the covers. She called his name and flooded his extra senses with red and gold light, swirling together and burning into his mind as he gave a few more rapid plunges. The love, the friction, and the walls convulsing around his member made him topple over the edge, spilling into her and stirring his own blue and brown mental presence with hers. They were each full of adoration, trust... and exhausted satiation.

In a minute, they were curled up together in bed, her snuggled to his shoulder and giving his neck a nuzzle. She yawned, and he smiled.

"This is perfect," she remarked softly.

"Which?"

"This. Tangled with my brand new fiancé after a fantastic shag." The Doctor preened a bit, figuring he'd earned some smugness. Then Rose, speaking more seriously, broached the subject, "I know I've been... less than patient lately." He pulled away enough to turn and see her face.

"Why was that, exactly? It wasn't, by any chance, the ring that you wanted? That would be convenient, since I've already given it to you." Rose laughed.

"I dunno; maybe it was. I've been missing my family, and Mickey, Jake, and Ingrid. But mostly my family. I know _you're_ my family now, you and Donna and the TARDIS, but it's not..." She trailed off.

"The same?"

"No. And I didn't want to say anything, because I don't want you to think I regret it. Coming here, to live a life with you. But I guess not saying anything doesn't make me come across that blissful either." Her expression was somewhat sheepish. The Doctor smiled and spoke gently.

"Sometimes, we have to accept surrogates. Different attitudes, different relationships, even different species, but they are the family you choose, which has its advantages. So Sarah Jane was telling me when we last stopped in for tea, anyway. Several times. I think she thinks I'm daft. And I know she wants us to come by more often." Rose had acquired a small frown, and a wave of guilt came from her, most likely sent unbidden. Lovemaking always made their connection more malleable and difficult to limit.

"She's right, you know. You and I both have her, Jack, Martha and everyone to lean on. Best surrogate family in the world in an alien invasion. But you, you're no stand-in family member, are you? We're making it all official." At last, she grinned again. "Actually, it might be best my mum's not here; she'd have a heart attack if I told her you proposed. 'Mrs. Doctor? What kind of name is that?!'" She laughed at the mental image.

"She should be happy! After that, I'll no longer qualify as your 'sugar daddy.' That's really disturbing, by the way, having a term for a surrogate, sexual father figure. Did you feel that? I shuddered just mentioning it. Your society frightens me sometimes." Rose was staring at him, slightly agape.

"What?" he asked defensively. It was a perfectly valid point.

"...Have you been talking to Jack? Or- please don't tell me Owen?"


	5. Flowers and Requests

**Title: **Taking the Plunge**  
Author: **Shen**  
Rating: **NC-17**  
Characters: **Rose, Ten, Donna, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto**  
Setting/Spoilers: **No spoilers whatsoever. Part of my Peril-verse (see my profile). Recap of said 'verse is at _shengirl_ _dot livejournal dot com/8390 dot html_**  
Teaser:** Trouble in paradise! The Doctor's really done it now, and his friends suggest a rather drastic solution: Marriage?!

**Author's Note:** Thanks to those of you kind enough to comment. As always, concrit appreciated!

"_She should be happy! After that, I'll no longer qualify as your 'sugar daddy.' That's really disturbing, by the way, having a term for a surrogate, sexual father figure. Did you feel that? I shuddered just mentioning it. Your society frightens me sometimes." Rose was staring at him, slightly agape._

_"What?" he asked defensively. It was a perfectly valid point._

"_...Have you been talking to Jack? Or- please don't tell me Owen?"_

**Chapter 5: Flowers and Requests**

"Um," the Doctor supplied helpfully.

"You didn't propose out of some sudden sense of propriety did you?" Rose asked with a wince.

"No!"

"Good, because you weren't getting out of it, even if you did." Rose crossed her arms and faced forward again. Still on his side and looking at her, the Doctor allowed himself a small sigh.

"It's just, honestly, I hadn't even thought about it. I had no idea you might desire it, and until someone else brought it up, it didn't occur to me that I didn't have anything against the concept. I mean, now the whole thing just makes sense, don't you think? You and me? But without the impetus to consider it..."

Rose mimicked his sigh and gave another wince before explaining, "And I didn't bring it up to you to even think about because, well, it wasn't me that was opposed to it. You've been... rather outspoken against the domestic at times, and I was afraid that talking about it at all would come across as me pressuring you. So I let it be."

"We are quite the pair of idiots, aren't we?" the Doctor asked cheerily. "And you won't often hear me say that, as I'm generally the epitome of intelligence and objectivity. But imagine, holding off on a mutually beneficial action because of my ignorance and your trepidation."

"Hold off on that 'mutually beneficial' thing until we get into planning it, oh epitome of modesty," Rose joked, turning her head to look at him again. The Doctor put on an expression of mock concern.

"You aren't going to be a 'bridezilla,' are you? I'd hate to have to slip you tranquilizers. Or see you go Bad Wolf on some poor, unsuspecting caterer and give him nightmares about... alien abduction as executed by sadistic Teletubbies, or something similarly vulgar." Rose laughed, incredulous.

"Teletubbies?"

"They're frightful," the Doctor explained darkly.

"Well, don't worry; I'm pretty sure I can't inflict a series of nightmares about- about creepy smiles and fur-suited probing on non-psychic caterers, no matter how hard I try. And really, I'm not about to be picky with ceremony; the important thing is that it happens. And that I love you." She kissed him on the cheek, making him smile contentedly. Then, she asked in a suddenly more subdued fashion, "Did you have any marriage traditions on Gallifrey? I know I'm no Time Lord, but I'd make an effort to do what I could, if you want." The Doctor felt warm inside, pleased that she would even think of it.

Gently, he explained, "Actually, for the most part, marriage was for convenience at home; terribly dull. There were occasional emotionally-based unions, but they were so rare, no special ceremony came about for them. The Earth version is just fine for me, or possibly an iteration with less pomp. Or even a tradition that's alien to both of us. Like you said, what matters is-" Rose interrupted him with a giant yawn, and he stared, hurt. She blushed.

"Sorry, Doctor; it's been a long day. And you did just wear me out even more." She offered him large, repentant eyes and a hand on his still-nude chest.

He half-begrudgingly gave in to her wiles, "Alright, try to get some sleep. We've plenty of time to worry about this later, I suppose." That earned him a smile and a quick kiss before she got up to prepare for bed.

* * *

"Rose."

"Go 'way. S'eepin'," the blonde muttered into her pillow. The Doctor smiled at her petulant tone. Times like this, she sounded more like a child than the strong, monk-trained, psychic-powered woman he knew she was. So, he chose words that would jostle her from sleep.

"Rose... about 'til death do us part.'" She gave a little whine before rolling over to look at him blearily. "Big universe out there. In your future, humans and other creatures discover ways to slow down their aging. Live longer. Remember how surprised you were when Jack told you his age?"

"I thought he was lying out of pride," Rose responded, smiling at the memory of the man's subsequent indignation. The Doctor's previous incarnation, upon seeing Jack taken down a peg, had been forced to look away in order to regain his composure. His expression had been priceless.

Then, her expression dropped, and she asked with some hesitation, "But- I can do that, as well? Live longer, with you?" The Doctor nodded enthusiastically.

"For now, eating food from your future is about all you can do. Even Jack hadn't done much more than that at his age. They put all kinds of vitamins and enzymes... and..." the explanation died on his lips as he saw Rose's still-sleepy glare. This was evidently no time for technical language. "Er, so there's no extra effort required yet. But, you know, later..."

"That's amazing," Rose said quietly, finally shedding her disbelief. Then, she stated confidently, "I'm in. Because... well, I'm in, that's all." Because she didn't want him to be alone any sooner than necessary, the Doctor thought, and he loved her for it. He grinned widely.

"Brilliant!"

Rose suddenly added, "You'll have to offer it to Donna, too." The Doctor frowned, and Rose raised her eyebrow at him, giving nary an inch.

He tried to elucidate, "I don't generally... alter my companions. You're the exception, not that I could stop you from tearing my beautiful ship open. Raises too many questions when they go home, and if they outlived everyone they knew or aged slower than their spouses... well, they might hate me, mightn't they?" He grimaced, having mentioned aloud the most painful thing about his relationship with Rose. Her limited lifespan and the astoundingly fast aging of her species in contrast with his. But the point stood: He might have separated from old companions with no expectation of seeing them again, but the intention was for both parties to remember each other fondly, full of health and warmth and good adventures. He couldn't bear the idea of a dear friend resenting him for ruining his or her life in such a way.

Though, Adam was free to hate him. Git.

Rose frowned, but spoke, "I understand, Doctor, but this is Donna. She's not going anywhere. If she didn't do a runner when I showed up and usurped half your attention, she's pretty committed. Her grandfather knows where she is, and her mother... will, eventually. I bet. They'll be happy for her, and besides, it's not the same as a husband or even a sister." Indeed, the Doctor thought, parents and grandparents aren't supposed to outlive a person.

Rose finished, "So it's only fair. And, actually, on the subject of Donna, you should get her flowers today." The sudden change of subject gave the Doctor mental whiplash. What?

"...So, I propose to you and buy her flowers?" he confirmed slowly.

"She'll never see it coming." The Doctor blinked.

"Um, alright. And I suppose you're right about the other, as well. I'll ask Donna if she wants to stay with us for as long as you think, just to make sure. Then, I'll see if she wants to deal with the pair of us through an extended lifespan. You never know; those extra years could be enough to make her snap and kill us both. But assuming she says yes, I'll need blood and tissue samples from you two." Rose agreed with a smile, then proceeded to go back to sleep for an hour. The Doctor sighed at his somnolent human and went back to tinkering with the TARDIS.

Since they needed to pick up Donna shortly after they'd left her, and because Rose had slept through a "night" since then, they decided to spend most of a day on the ship before landing again, just to realign eating and sleeping schedules. On the Doctor's suggestion, Rose made up for her aborted spa visit by bathing with a little oatmeal, followed by some nice lotions. Old remedies were sometimes the best, after all. Television, a nice lunch, and a TARDIS-driving lesson ate up the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

The couple landed at Torchwood, and the Doctor let Rose out first, leaning against the door frame to watch. Rose was pleased; she got to tell everyone who didn't know that she was affianced, and the girls gathered around to ooh and aah over her ring. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jack walk over and slap the Doctor's back, causing him to grin back smugly. But after a moment's conversation, he excused himself and walked over to Donna.

"Um, here," the Doctor said, awkwardly handing a bouquet of flowers out to the redhead. She stared at them, completely stunned. Rose grinned. She knew what she was talking about when she told the Doctor to do this; blatant and random kindness had the miracle-like effect of defeating Donna Noble's snark.

"What's that for?" she managed softly, after about fifteen seconds of dumbstruck silence.

"An apology. For leaving you four days extra." Donna took them slowly.

"And for putting up with us in general," Rose piped up. Donna turned to her, most likely about to admonish the younger woman for her self-deprecation, judging by her expression, but the Doctor interrupted.

"And, I was wondering, if you'd want – I know you're not a man – I mean, obviously. Never in question. Very womanly, with the-" his eyes strayed downwards on the well-endowed ginger woman, but he was so discomfited, Rose couldn't bring herself to be jealous of the ogle. "Yes. Um. But gender roles in ceremonies, well, it's not even my species, is it, so why should I follow them? But they're your species, so I thought I'd ask if you could break them. For me. And be my best man." And now Donna smiled hugely and threw her arms around the Doctor's neck. He laughed loudly in relief and happiness, that jubilant, "ha HA," of his. But Rose saw Jack make the tiniest of pouts. That expression, as displayed on his manly, chiseled jaw, always made her smile.

"And we thought you might give the ceremony, Jack. It would mean a lot," she asked sweetly. Instantly, Jack's entire countenance lit up.

"Of course! I... I'm touched." He waved his arms expressively, and then, apparently deciding that words were insufficient, he pulled Rose into his arms, swung her around, and planted a slightly more-than-friendly kiss on her lips. Before the Doctor could get out a full whine of protest, however, Jack had walked over, grabbed his shoulders, and given him one as well. Rose could never, ever complain about this. As a matter of fact, she really needed to get a photo of it sometime.

The Doctor was in full pout after that stunt, and he spoke to Jack with a stinging tone, "I appreciate your future role in our wedding, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't send us to any more BDSM colonies in the future. Or seedy pleasure planets, or anything of that nature."

"Unless we ask first," added Rose in a mock serious tone.

"Right. Wait-!" She cut him off with a giggle.

Without thinking, she teased, "Don't mind him, Jack. He's just angry because he knows he would've been the one wearing the collar."

"Excuse me, Rose Tyler! You like it well enough in bed when I hold you dow-" She swiftly threw her hand over his mouth, earning guffaws from Jack, Donna, and Gwen.

The Torchwood leader grabbed Rose's burning cheeks and kissed her forehead, "That's my girl! Though you might want to invest in a ball gag for this one, even if he does dom most of the time. It doesn't even have to be sexual, really."

* * *

Shortly after, Rose and the Doctor decided to go on a dinner date with Gwen and Jack.

"Donna going to be alright?" Gwen asked when they were a few minutes' walk from the Hub.

"She'll be fine," Rose assured her. "Lots to do in the TARDIS, which I know she missed. Besides, when we left, she and Ianto were having a nice chat." Jack snorted all of a sudden.

"I don't think she was flirting, but can you imagine if she was? And it worked? They'd file _everything_ in their path. And create impossibly complex databases for fun."

Rose finished, "Or possibly as foreplay." Everyone laughed good-naturedly at the image of Super-Temp and Ianto Scarily Perfect Jones on the warpath. She'd have to tell Donna that one later; the older woman would get a kick out of it.

At one point, when the walkway was wide, the foursome walked with Rose between the Doctor and Jack, holding both of their hands while Gwen held onto Jack's other arm. For Rose, those several moments were like old times. Her, Jack, and the Doctor, relaxed and happy, nevermind the massive life (and body) changes that had occurred since they had last walked hand-in-hand. Things were the same or better in all the ways that counted.

Suddenly, a voice called out of a shop front.

"Rose? Rose TYLER?!"


	6. The Outsider

**Title: **Taking the Plunge**  
Author: **Shen**  
Rating: **NC-17**  
Characters: **Rose, Ten, Donna, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto**  
Setting/Spoilers: **No spoilers whatsoever. Part of my Peril-verse (see my profile). Recap of said 'verse is at _shengirl_ _dot livejournal dot com/8390 dot html_**  
Teaser:** Trouble in paradise! The Doctor's really done it now, and his friends suggest a rather drastic solution: Marriage?!

**Chapter 6: The Outsider**

Rose froze, pulling Jack, Gwen, and the Doctor to a stop beside her, and turned.

"Oh my God. It IS you!" Keisha, Rose's longtime friend, was clearly shocked out of her mind, but she wasn't one prone to silent gaping. "Rose, what on Earth are you doing here?! On Earth, in Cardiff?! You're dead!" Rose's companions looked to her for guidance. She had just been staring, wide-eyed, but now she did what she and the Doctor did best: concocted a load of bullshit in order to save their hides.

"I'm not dead! How could my mates have me declared dead? It's not fun getting into the country with the passport of a supposed stiff." She did her best to look injured.

"I..." Keisha answered, finally at a loss. Rose's voice and expression turned watery, and it wasn't an act.

"Oh, Keisha!" The two women hugged and exchanged teary, "I missed you!"s and "Oh my God"s. In crushing their bodies together, Rose noticed something about the other woman.

"You're pregnant!" she exclaimed, looking down at the baby bump when she pulled away from the hug.

"And you're a ghost; you first." Keisha crossed her arms and looked at Rose expectantly. Rose cleared her throat and looked around, noticing that her friends were just standing around awkwardly. Even the Doctor was letting her deal with this one herself.

"I... You remember the Doctor?" Keisha nodded, and himself gave a small, "Cheers." "And this is Jack and Gwen." The other couple tried to shake her hand, but Keisha was too busy staring at Rose in disbelief. Rose forgave her friend the rudeness; it would be both awful and disconcerting to be in her position.

Finally, Rose looked at her and said in an earnest tone, "I never died, Keisha. After Canary Wharf, when my mum... I did a runner. Shameful, I know, but I couldn't take it. She was my only mum, you know? The flat just held too many memories, so the Doctor and I left England, and we haven't been back since."

"But your mobile?! It wasn't exactly odd for you to be out of the country, but when we called you, and it came up dead, and you never called _us_-"

"It was destroyed in the battle," she supplied sheepishly. Then, she took a calculated risk. "I didn't get another one for ages, but it did have the same phone number. I suppose you stopped calling after a short while?"

"Well... I suppose we did." By her expression, Keisha was beginning to doubt her righteous anger. Rose, meanwhile, was disturbed by the ease with which lies and half-truths slid from her tongue. This was Keisha, the girl who'd painted Rose's nails for the first time. Rose had hugged her when she cried over her first boyfriend. The deception felt sick, but the truth simply wasn't an option. So, the lie that was the least damaging would have to do.

"But, Rose, why didn't you call us?" Keisha asked, pained.

Equally pained, Rose responded, "I didn't know you thought I was dead, or I would have, really! And since I wasn't in England, I couldn't quite call anyone up to do lunch, so... I'm so sorry." And that was enough; Keisha pulled her into another hug.

"I'm just happy you're here! But why are you here now?"

"The Doctor and I returned to the Isle because... we're getting married! We wanted to do it in our home country. And... we happened to fly into Cardiff first because some good friends of ours are here. They're letting us stay with them, rest up after the travel. But I was going to London to tell everyone next, honest. Imagine our shock when we flew in and were told that I'd died."

"Why don't you come to dinner with us?" Jack suggested smoothly. "You two clearly have some catching up to do."

"Sure, thanks. I just have to get my husband. He should be coming by any minute; we split to look at different shops." Rose got to congratulating her about her husband – new to Rose – and the baby, and Keisha expressed her happiness over Rose's engagement. Mitch, when he turned up a few minutes later, turned out to be a tall black man, jovial and openly affectionate with his wife. The first thing he did was put his arm around her and kiss her temple before offering his free hand to the group. They ended up at a trendy Indian place with low music and bright drapings.

"So," Keisha started after their orders were placed, "what took you two so long getting hitched?" Rose and the Doctor blinked comically at her while Jack starting giggling discretely.

Then, Rose soberly answered, "Some things got in the way." Daleks, Cybermen, and a cold Void. "You know how it is." In your nightmares.

Rose found the Doctor's hand and squeezed it. Jack choked.

* * *

Keisha immediately sensed that she had stumbled into emotional territory. Her first reaction was frustration. She'd begun losing track of her friend's life in the years before her supposed demise; tales of her travels had been suspiciously incomplete. And the mysterious Doctor she hadn't met at all for the first two years. Of course, even Jackie Tyler hadn't met him that first year; she thought her daughter had just gone missing. When Rose started showing up to the occasional dinner or pub crawl with this handsome if skinny man, Keisha had ribbed her about why she would hide such a catch but otherwise was pleased.

But that was years ago. A new and mobile lifestyle inevitably caused some drifting between friends, and the fact that Rose still made an effort to see them on occasion let Keisha excuse the secretive behavior. They were mates. It was enough. And then she'd gone missing – again - for two years, and her whole manner was different.

See, one didn't survive and rise above the Estates like she had without having a fairly spiffing sense about people. There was a vibe Keisha got from all four people at the table who weren't her husband, and it was aloof competence. The Doctor was all languid ego, obvious in the way he held himself. That Jack fellow had some of the same, but he also struck her as maybe a little dangerous. Gwen was constantly analyzing the world and people around her. And Rose held her back almost military-straight, quick on her feet literally and figuratively. Some of that was just growing up, but Rose's new level of poise was something that bespoke long experience the likes of which Keisha really wanted to hear about. But dinner was no time for that.

"Yep, you know how it is!" the Doctor said jovially after an awkward pause. "Some of us are slow on the uptake, and some of us, like yourselves, don't waste any time at all!" He gestured to Keisha's stomach. Then, judging by his flinch, Rose kicked him under the table.

"What? I'm just making conversation." Rose just shook her head and shot Keisha an apologetic look. Her exasperation, coupled with the Doctor's indignant expression, was a picture that made the other woman suddenly laugh. At least Rose wasn't _completely_ different. Perhaps they could still be close, and she might tell Keisha about her lost years in time.

To that end, Keisha teased, "Well, if you're suddenly catching up, when do ya think you'll have sprogs of your own?"

"Oh God," Jack blurted. "Can you imagine a little one of you running around, Doctor? Never tiring out, touching everything, and probably noisy."

"So he'd take after his Uncle Jack?" asked Gwen with a smirk. Jack looked torn between pride and amusement, the Doctor looked confused, and Keisha suspected that Rose had snorted water up her nose. Keisha and Mitch, after taking half a moment to catch the innuendo, laughed as well.

"You're awful; I like you," Mitch commented to Gwen, prompting a little bow.

"But really, we're not worried about that yet. One thing at a time, right?" said Rose.

"I guess 'getting married' and 'settling down' aren't the same things to you two," Keisha noted. "Hard to raise a little one on the road. And you're right; wedding planning's enough to worry about for now. Oh!" Keisha interrupted herself, "We'll have to tell Shireen and Jimmy the news."

Puzzled, Rose questioned, "Jimmy?"

"He actually took it rather hard when you died, you know."

"Wasn't he in prison?"

"A few years ago, yeah, for about six months. Talk about out of the loop; that happened when you were still around and kicking, Rose."

"Ooh, incarceration? You have terrible taste in men," commented the Doctor cheekily. Rose just scoffed.

"Right, like you can hold jail time against anyone."

Jack chimed in, "Or you, Rose. Haha, oh man, the times we three were thrown in jail for public indecency."

The Doctor argued, "Oi! Breaking inane and unknown laws about covering one's nose or making certain gestures do not count against one's character. You're the only one who really earned an indecency charge."

"I never want to know," stated Gwen. Keisha watched the exchange with amusement and a little shock.

"Sounds like you might have saved up some stories to tell," she tried, testing Rose for a reaction.

"I might," Rose responded, but the warmth in her eyes had dimmed. She didn't intend to divulge much; that was for certain.

Still, Keisha pressed, "Well, we're going to be on vacation here for a few more days; you and I can do lunch, yeah? Can I have your mobile number again?" Perhaps if she got Rose alone, information would be forthcoming. To her delight, Rose agreed just as the food came. The rest was fragrant dishes, idle chitchat, and gentle ribbing.


	7. A Heavy Lunch

**Title: **Taking the Plunge**  
Author: **Shen**  
Rating: **NC-17**  
Characters: **Rose, Ten, Donna, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto**  
Setting/Spoilers: **No spoilers whatsoever. Part of my Peril-verse (see my profile). Recap of said 'verse is at _shengirl_ _dot livejournal dot com/8390 dot html_**  
Teaser:** Trouble in paradise! The Doctor's really done it now, and his friends suggest a rather drastic solution: Marriage?!

**Chapter 7: A Heavy Lunch**

The next morning, at the breakfast table, Rose and the Doctor told Donna about their evening out.

Rose finished with, "Actually, Keisha had a point, Doctor."

"About not calling for several years? Don't worry about it; the rest of your story was brilliant, and she was so relieved to see you, she'll let that bit go. I mean, leaving England, saying your phone was destroyed, and the wedding as the reason for us coming back – that's inspired improvisation."

Rose smiled but corrected him, "No, silly, about the wedding planning. I really don't know the first thing. It's a shame my mum isn't here; she'd tackle the project like Cassandra pounced on liposuction." The Doctor sat back in his chair, slung his elbow over the back, and gave the ceiling a considering look.

"Mothers do traditionally help with this, don't they? And I suppose we have to have it on Earth." He looked at Rose again. "I can't haul your friends around in the TARDIS, and I wouldn't stop you inviting them now that the exaggerated reports of your demise have been disregarded."

"Thank you so much again for doing this," said Rose. "I know it's not really up your alley." She leaned over and kissed him sweetly, and he let the Cheshire grin that followed it tell her he was feeling rather good about putting up with things for his fiancé's sake. Her thankfulness had its benefits, as she had demonstrated to him last night upon returning to the TARDIS.

Donna cleared her throat and began, "Far be it from anyone to call me motherly-"

"No, really, she'll cut you," interjected the Doctor smoothly.

"You know it, Spaceman. But, Rose, since your mum isn't here, I can help you plan your wedding. Did it once already, even if it didn't take." Rose didn't know what to say, so she got up and hugged the other woman. Donna hugged her back and laughed when she spotted the Doctor – taking advantage of Rose's bent position to enjoy the view.

"You're hopeless," she told him when Rose had sat back down. "I've seen teenagers with more subtlety, for that matter."

Rather than respond to that baseless accusation, the Doctor stated bracingly, "Let's go somewhere today. I'm sure you've had enough Earth and TARDIS, eh, Donna? What do you fancy? Planet, satellite, or spaceship? Bipeds, reptiles, humans?"

"But Rose is supposed to talk to Keisha and make a lunch date, I thought."

Rose answered for him, "Superphone and time machine. I won't miss the lunch date." The Doctor had replaced her mobile when she returned to this universe and given that number to Jack, Martha, and Sarah Jane. It was handy, since he didn't like carrying around one of the ancient devices himself.

"Alright, I vote a space station populated by something... fuzzy," asserted Donna with a grin.

* * *

Hours later, Rose and the Doctor found themselves in the ventilation system of a space station that, as it happened, had been occupied by xenophobic reptiles. Donna was just fine; her ginger hair had earned her a following amongst the younger denizens, and she had gamely followed a group of them to see their play area and meet their friends. However, the newly engaged couple had quickly enraged one of the older reptiles. It turned out that he didn't appreciate plucky young human women questioning his choice of footwear. The following ruckus had been... disproportionate, she felt.

"This is ridiculous; I just wanted to know how he got that dye pattern!" she whispered. How was she to know that the material came from a rare creature's hide, and that suggesting it was dyed at all meant she was insulting his income and fashion sense?

"You are in an air shaft! Be quiet!" the Doctor whispered back, exasperated.

They crawled along slowly. The vents were so tiny and flat, they had to do something Rose hadn't done since Torchwood training: pull themselves along by their elbows, stomachs dragging. At least they were almost back to the TARDIS.

_BZZZZZT._ They froze.

Oh god. Her mobile was in her front pocket, on vibrate. And her pocket was pressed against the metal floor of the vent.

_BZZZZZT._ The whole shaft shuddered around them, the sound resonating and rebounding down the length of it. Suddenly, questioning reptilian voices were heard from the vent the pair had just passed over.

"Crawl faster!" the Doctor whispered urgently – and unnecessarily.

Wriggling in an undignified manner as fast as she could through the shaft, Rose whimpered, "I'm trying!"

_BZZZZZT._

"You know, your mother never had timing this bad."

"Oh, be quiet!"

* * *

"Hi, Keisha! Sorry I missed your call... yeah... oh?" Rose asked distractedly. Donna was making it hard to concentrate. After having returned to the ship in her own time, the Doctor had explained to her what happened, and she was currently pointing at Rose and laughing. Nuisance.

Rose stuck her tongue out at the older woman and turned away from her before saying, "Sure! Tomorrow's fine for lunch. Meet at the Plas at 11:30? Good. No, you didn't interrupt anything important when you called; I was just in a- in the can." Keisha made a remark about picking up bad slang from attractive American travel mates.

The Doctor and Donna just groaned at her awful pun.

* * *

"Rose!" Keisha was walking in Rose's direction. "Where on Earth did you come from?" Rose smiled. Rather than park in Torchwood's workspace, the Doctor had parked on their secret elevator, right on the Plas. Thus, Rose may as well have come from nowhere. Jack probably wouldn't appreciate the parking job when he found out, but that was the Doctor's argument to have.

"Oh, I just wandered up. Did you have an idea of what you wanted to eat?" They wound up at a cafe that Tosh had recommended and settled into conversation. At first, Keisha seemed content to fill Rose in on her life. She had a steady job that Rose was proud of her for, working at a nursing home. It wasn't something Rose herself could have done, she felt, and she told her friend so.

"Someone has to, haven't they?" Keisha said modestly. "Besides, you get used to it, and some of the people are lovely." Mitch, as it happened, was an estate agent. They'd met when Keisha was looking for a home outside the Powell Estate, after getting her new job. Finally, her brother Jay was about to finish his last tour with the Royal Navy.

"But enough about me, Rose. Tell me about you and your Doctor."

"Oh, we're fantastic," she answered with a smile. "It's been a long couple years, but I'm over the moon. Lately, we've been traveling with another woman, Donna. You'll have to meet her; she's hilarious. And a little scary, but that's good to have sometimes." Keisha smiled back with a little trepidation.

"Lovely. But I meant more along the lines of my question at dinner. What took you so long? I don't get the impression you guys just forgot to commit for a few years. Not the two of you." Rose stared at her blankly. All the monk training she had, and her brain still seized trying to think of a way to sidestep hard-hitting questions from a childhood friend. Keisha sighed and looked at her apologetically.

"Look, I don't mean to be a pain, but you two are different. Like, so much it scares me. You, for instance, hold yourself in a completely different way. Not that that's not bad! And him, all I have to do is look. He used to be... I mean, I never doubted his affection. Coming out to the pub, he'd hold your hand and look at you so sweetly I'd want to gag. But he wouldn't, like, pay attention. A million miles away, he'd be, staring into space, pretty much there for your moral support or something. Not real interested in our nonsense. But at dinner, he almost seemed clingy. As in, less like he'd grown some social graces and more like he didn't want you out of his sight. What happened to you two?" Rose, at the surface, was impressed at Keisha's skill at observation. Then again, the woman had known her since she was seven. For that matter, some of Rose's prodigious people skills had been developed at the same time as Keisha's, as close as they were. She should have expected this.

And yet, "I got pulled into an alternate universe, so we're kinda extra grateful for each other and stuff," wouldn't do. Fortunately, Rose had finally thought of something that might.

"We got separated. For a long time. We got mixed up in a country's internal affairs; it's a hazard of world travel. I ended up doing some... interesting work to stay afloat. Picked up some skills I didn't think I'd ever want or need. Did a few things I'm not proud of. So did he. When we finally got in contact, it was quite possibly the best day of my life." Rose rolled up her sleeve and showed Keisha a scar from a weevil bite. Keisha gasped, but Rose smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry; I'm not PTSD or anything, but I'd rather not talk anymore about it, if you don't mind. Now why don't you tell me about every little thing I missed in London?" Rose smiled brightly, but Keisha did not. Rose wasn't sure what her friend had been expecting as an answer, but she seemed surprised and guilty for making Rose bring up such an apparently painful set of memories. So, the blonde lightened the mood by mentioning that they'd run into Mickey on their travels, then cracked an off-color joke about him working for a high-profile company... in India, as English-speaking tech support. It sufficiently broke the ice for Keisha to talk about their other friends, informing Rose that Shireen was still kicking it single.

"I swear, she gets tired of men like normal women get tired of shoes. By the way, she's ecstatic you're alive but rather in shock; you'll have to see her soon if you want her to think she wasn't dreaming the conversation I had with her. And your aunt and cousins'll be overwhelmed; they threw you and Jackie such a lovely funeral."

"Oh god."

"What?"

"I forgot about my family," Rose admitted with a wince. "And now I feel really, really guilty. I'm going to have to talk to them, aren't I?" Keisha looked at her like she was stupid.

"Yeah, unless you want to spend the rest of your life dodging your relatives when you visit England. And you want to hope Shireen never lets something slip to Mo when she runs into her at the Tesco's. Ever."

Rose put her head in her hands. The Doctor was going to _love_ this.


	8. Sharing News

**Title: **Taking the Plunge**  
Author: **Shen**  
Rating: **NC-17**  
Characters: **Rose, Ten, Donna, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto**  
Setting/Spoilers: **No spoilers whatsoever. Part of my Peril-verse (see my profile). Recap of said 'verse is at _shengirl_ _dot livejournal dot com/8390 dot html_**  
Teaser:** Trouble in paradise! The Doctor's really done it now, and his friends suggest a rather drastic solution: Marriage?!

**Author's Note:** I meant to get to the family drama this chapter, but another issue took precedence. Sorry. However, I think you guys will like this chapter anyways.

**Chapter 8: Sharing News**

Rose found the Doctor in the kitchen, sitting and staring blankly, a cup of tea cooling in his hands. He did look up when she walked in, however.

"Hello, Rose," he greeted in a bright but strained voice, giving a small smile. "Have a nice lunch?" He was shielding her from most of his feelings, but so was she. She was nervous, doubly so after noting his demeanor.

"It was... nice. Keisha's picked up on a lot of things different about the two of us, so I told her all I safely could to make her understand. She's not mad at me much anymore." Rose didn't know why all that had come spilling out. She hadn't intended to go into it, but part of her wanted to air out anything that would postpone the request she had to make.

"'Course she did. Not all of your friends could be idiots like Mickey was, could they? A rose doesn't grow to be as beautiful and smart as yourself if it grows up in a bed full of weeds, does it? Though it's difficult to quantify the intelligence of plants, so that simile breaks down somewhere. Maybe if I'd said, 'beautiful and sharp,' since the latter has a double meaning?" Great, and he was babbling. Neither was ever going to see why the other was acting oddly at this rate.

"Well, she brought up something I need to talk to you about..." Rose began slowly.

"I need to talk to you about something as well."

"Do you want to go first?" she asked hopefully.

"No, you'd better," stated the Doctor. And then Rose was afraid. He had taken blood and tissue samples from Donna and herself that morning to see what sort of futuristic, age-retardant treatments they were compatible with. Donna still wasn't sure about going through with it, begging time to consider, but she'd had the preliminary tests done regardless. Had the Doctor found something in their cells? Was one of them sick? Cancer, perhaps? He would want the presumably pettier issue to be taken care of before dropping that bombshell on her. And she agreed.

So, she began, "Keisha reminded me that being legally dead meant I had a funeral. A joint one with my mum, actually. With... family there. Probably making speeches. Doctor, my family thinks I'm dead still, and I know you'd rather not deal with it, but that's just not right. It's fine if you don't want to talk to them or anything, but I have to go see them." There was a white lie in that speech. Rose really, truly didn't want to face her family alone – faking one's death rarely went over well with loved ones – but she wouldn't force the issue. It was enough he was putting himself through this incredibly human wedding of hers.

The Doctor appeared flabbergasted.

"That- I didn't even think! Rose, I'm so sorry. When you were lost, I thought it was for the best, but you're back now, and it's horrible! We've let them grieve all these months you've been back." He looked sickened, just as Rose had felt when she realized the situation. She was relieved, having half-expected to argue over whether it was easier to just continue letting them think she was dead. Perhaps that was a little mean of her; the Doctor wasn't a monster, no matter how nervous families made him. "We'll go see them. I promise."

"You don't have to come," Rose offered more weakly than she intended. The Doctor gave a curt shake of his head.

"Don't be silly. It's my fault in the first place." Horrified, she stepped up to him and put her hands on his cheeks, making him look at her.

Quietly and firmly, she spoke, "Oh, Doctor, no. It's a lot of people's fault, but none of those people are you." He looked to the side and gave a noncommittal grunt. "Daleks and Cybermen and Torchwood. Lumic and Yvonne Hart and whatever shortsighted Time Lord thought a Void ship was a good way to push an army of Daleks out of the way. The Cult of Skaro. Not you." Finally, he looked at her and sighed.

"Point is, I'm going with you when you go. But for right now, I have something else to talk to you about." He got up and removed her hands from his face, keeping one to lead her through the ship. She looked at the back of his head worriedly. She had no idea he retained guilt over losing her, though she suspected her self-powered method of returning had something to do with it. Happy though he was, she had denied him the opportunity to fix "his" mistake. They would have to talk about it some other time, however. More pressing concerns overtook her awareness when they walked into the infirmary.

The Doctor turned and looked at her, squeezing her hand as he spoke, "I was looking at the samples I took this morning. Donna's was totally normal, but your genetic material is another matter. Do you know anything about human aging?" Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she let her mental barriers slip.

"No," she squeaked. The Doctor blinked at her, then grabbed her other hand.

"Hey now, no need to panic," he said softly, then kissed her forehead. "You're alright. It's just that your DNA looks very unusual. At either end of every strand of DNA is a long section of junk code, base pairs that don't code for eye color or enzymes or anything else useful. That's where your cell's replication machinery attaches when it's time to make new cells. The area's called a telomere, and because the machinery never grasps the strand _right_ at the end, bases are lost in translation every time it's replicated. The telomere is restored slightly, but never to its former length. Shortened telomeres are a normal aspect of aging for humans and a useful indicator. However, your telomeres are slightly longer than one would expect in a human of your age."

"So," Rose tried, seeing if she followed, "the length of my DNA makes me look younger than I am? Under a microscope, at least."

"Precisely. So, I cultured some of your cells with my equipment and watched them replicate, but the process seemed very normal. Your DNA lost a totally average number of bases in the process. In other words, from my preliminary data, the aging process seems to occur at a normal rate at the cellular level but with the opposite of a head start. As if you'd shored up your DNA with extra telomere somehow, but it was a one-time deal instead of a continuous process." Rose's panic faded completely, replaced by curiosity.

"Do you think Bad Wolf dropped me a few extra bases when she was in control on the Gamestation?"

"Possibly. I thought about that, but the alteration isn't that significant in the grand scheme of things. Just a little extra time in your lifespan. Hardly on the scale of everything else she did."

"But... I have extra time in my lifespan?" Rose asked. The Doctor grinned suddenly.

"Yep! More Rose for me, though like I said, not much." Suddenly, he threw a hand in front of her face and yelled, "Wait!" Rose stared, nonplussed, having never intended to say something in the first place. Meanwhile, she could see his mind racing behind his eyes, and tenuous excitement could be felt across their link.

"I have an idea! Rose, let me have another sample." She wrinkled her nose but permitted him to take a mouth scraping and put it into his machine. "Now, use Bad Wolf."

"...To do what?" Rose asked, completely lost.

"Anything! Just access it somehow. Try to give me an image from your mind or something. A scene, a sentence, whatever." She grimaced. Projecting ideas, images, and particularly words to each other without physical contact was extraordinarily exhausting, especially over any distance. But she'd never tried it with Bad Wolf. So, she closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

* * *

The Doctor watched Rose intently as she began to glow. It was a very soft, golden light, but it was definitely there. Then, quite suddenly, he was in some sort of garish pink nightmare.

"What?" he asked the air.

"You don't recognize my old room?" asked Rose. He turned around to see her standing in the doorway, and it came back to him. This was her childhood room on the Powell Estate. Rose blushed. "I guess talking about my family got me thinking of Mum and our old flat."

"Well, this is impressive! Excellent detail, and look!" He sat hard on the bed, grinning as he bounced. "Not just an image, either. But this should suffice. Let us out now."

"Um."

"...Rose? Do you know how to get us out?"

"I've never done this before!" The Doctor sighed.

* * *

A long hour later, after several card games where Rose accidentally cheated because the cards were a figment of her mind, the Doctor came out of his trance. He opened his eyes just in time to see the gold fade from his lover – and just in time to catch her as she did her usual post-Bad Wolf faint. He laid her on the infirmary bed and swiftly took another cell sample.

* * *

"Doctor?" Rose asked fuzzily when she awoke.

"Good, you're awake! Rose, this is entirely worth being trapped in the land of pink and hopelessness for an hour."

"Oh, hush, I told you I didn't mean to cheat. And we wouldn't have been trapped if you hadn't made me access my power without giving it direction. There's a price for overkill, you know."

"Come on!" Ignoring her irritation, the Doctor hauled her bodily from the bed and placed her in front of a monitor. It had two pictures on it, and he was looking expectantly between them and her.

"I give up; what am I looking at?" He heaved an exasperated sigh.

"This is the sample before you used your power. This other picture is from afterwards. I teased out ends of coiled DNA from each to compare them, and look." He changed the magnification. "The telomeres on the second picture are longer! Rather noticeably!"

"Did I get younger?" Rose asked dubiously.

"No, of course not. You can't de-age, becoming a child or something like on telly. That's just silly. It's just that the effect of normal telomere loss won't be seen on your body for a while. Your physical age is temporarily static. Of course, telomeres are only one aspect of human aging, but I checked a few of the others as well, and they all point to the same thing. Using your power adds to your lifespan by benignly holding up some natural processes of your cells. That golden glow signals a sort of regeneration of genetic material, among other things." Oh my god, did this mean what she thought it meant?

"Doctor? How long could I live this way?" How long could she travel with him, stay with him, see the universe and all its marvels?

"Potentially? A very, very, _very_ long time," he said, a grin nearly breaking his face.


	9. Domestics

**Title: **Taking the Plunge**  
Author: **Shen**  
Rating: **NC-17**  
Characters: **Rose, Ten, Donna, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto**  
Setting/Spoilers: **No spoilers whatsoever. Part of my Peril-verse (see my profile). Recap of said 'verse is at _shengirl_ _dot livejournal dot com/8390 dot html_**  
Teaser:** Trouble in paradise! The Doctor's really done it now, and his friends suggest a rather drastic solution: Marriage?!

**Chapter 9: Domestics**

The Doctor was awash in euphoria. He had foolishly taken a human mate after nearly a year of resisting her charms, all because of the hazards of such a choice. But he had eventually acknowledged that the risk of watching her wither and die would be worth the happiness, or at least that there was nothing worthwhile to be gained by missing out on the happiness. Slowly, he'd tried to make peace with it. This marriage, this human ceremony of commitment was part of it, proof he'd coped.

And now it turned out he needn't have! Ha! He was sure that if he brought up that viewpoint to Rose, she'd make some speech about how it was still important to understand and be okay with human aging, about lasting, healthy relationships with his human friends or something. But now wasn't the time for that. Now was the time to just be happy because his Rose, his wonderful girl, love of his hearts, could possibly live as long as he did.

He snogged her, his glee overflowing from his mind and swirling with the tide of her own happiness. They separated with a giggle, grinning stupidly at each other.

"So! Um," Rose began suddenly, her cheer cooling and grin dropping, "when are we going to see my family?" Correction: Now was apparently not the time for rejoicing. Now was the time for wailing and gnashing of teeth, at least internally.

Grudgingly, he admitted, "No time like the present. We'd better do it before our resolve fades." He paused. "Though, are you sure you can't just call them? I can support you by holding your hand while you're on the phone. And there'll be less chance of injury." The Doctor had no illusions about how poorly this could go for him. He was the older man who had swept Rose out of the country to disastrous consequences – twice. Rose winced.

"If I call saying I'm their dead relative, they'll think it's a sick joke. I have to see them."

"We could go back a few days and send them a post card from Rome or somewhere. And a picture of us. Show them you didn't know you were deceased first, then go see them."

"Doctor. I told you, you don't have to come." Her growing irritation gave him a twinge of guilt. Still, the Doctor had agreed to accompany her while he was in shock. His senses of guilt and duty overtook him temporarily, but while he still knew going was the right thing to do, his rational mind was becoming more and more nervous. It was making him fidgety. Yet... he couldn't let her go into the lion's den alone. He loved her too much.

"Thank you, but as much as I'd like to not go... I'm marrying you. I can't just let you go into peril alone, not if I can help it. And don't give me that look; I won't suddenly start coddling you, but this is a special kind of danger. You're not distracting the guard or infiltrating a school kitchen or even coping with a base full of rabid Ood. This is the lion's den, if lions ate you with teeth made of guilt. That's exactly the kind of moral support I'm not allowed to hide from. It would be shirking a duty, even if I haven't married you yet. Now, let's get going before all this bravado jumps out the window, screaming as if its hair's on fire and crying the tears of the deranged."

"I love you, Doctor." Rose hugged him tightly, and he mustered a smile.

"Love you, too, Rose." An idea struck. "We'd, um. We'd best go tell Donna where we're going."

"...Maybe if you give her puppy eyes, she'll come with us?"

"My thoughts exactly."

* * *

"Good luck," Donna offered when they told her of their plight. "I'm certainly not going along. I know you, Rose, and I've heard legend of Jackie Tyler. 'The voice of a harpy queen and a slap like a thousand struggling trout.'"

Rose turned a nearly feral glare on the Doctor, who gaped at Donna, betrayed.

"I-I never!"

"Point is, your family is scary. I'm not stepping into that wreck. So good luck, and if you come out alive, buy some milk on your way back."

* * *

Rose knocked on the door of the flat with one hand and squeezed the Doctor's hand with the other. He stood beside and slightly behind her. A few moments later, he heard a yell and the distinct sound of breaking glass. Then, hard footsteps running away from the door... and more footsteps running to it.

"You aren't seeing things; it's really her!" came a masculine voice. The door flew open, and everyone froze. The Doctor suspected that Rose shared his expression: wide eyes and a strained smile.

"Hi, Aunt Mary, Uncle Eustace!" She'd mentioned these people were actually her mother's elder cousins, but she'd always called them Aunt and Uncle. "We've just come back to England and thought we'd stop by to say hello."

"Say hello?! I thought you were dead!" Mary wailed as she hauled Rose into a an aggressive hug. He heard the air rush out of her lungs at the behest of the woman's surprisingly strong arms. Eustace gave the next hug, and Rose even managed to return that one.

"Who's this?" Mary asked, finally laying eyes on the Doctor.

"Hello!" he chimed in a friendly manner.

"This is my fiancé, the Doctor. We've been traveling, but we decided to come back here when he proposed." Excellent plan! Giving two bits of good news at once – that she's alive and getting married – might just offset their negative feelings.

"Oh, this is the Doctor, then?" Eustace asked with a narrowing of the eyes. Ominously, he added, "Jackie told us all about you!" Bugger. So much for that.

Mary continued for her husband, "Warmed up to you later, or at least she thought she did. Heaven knows she might not have seen her daughter if she didn't."

"Hey now!" Rose yelled. "That's uncalled for! Mum loved him, and he liked her back. What do you know?"

"Oh, let's take this inside before the neighbors wander out! Mind the broken glass; you made me spill my cola," Mary instructed, backing out to let the pair inside. They stepped over the threshold warily, following the older couple into their living room.

Eustace explained, "It's awful suspicious, young man, taking our young Rose off to all those places. I suppose you support her, too? Took her along for nothing, even when you first met?" Nothing? Rose's company was never "nothing." That was something the Doctor could set straight.

"Rose isn't helpless! She's very valuable to me, and things wouldn't be nearly so comfortable for us if it wasn't for her. She works very hard in our travels."

"Doing what?" The Doctor's taxed imagination faltered.

"Um... This and that?"

Mary wailed, "Oh my God! Rose, what does he have you doing on the streets of all these foreign countries!"

"We're partners!" the Doctor protested, horrified. "I'm not exploiting her. Never have. Partners in crime, eh?"

"It's crime now?!" Mary exclaimed.

They moved like velociraptors, separating and herding their prey. Suddenly, Rose was seated in a chair across the small living room, Mary leaning over her, and the Doctor stood facing them but with Eustace in the way. He was being menaced by a short, angry old man. Had his first incarnation seemed this absurd to other people?

"Rose, you don't have to be afraid, love," Mary was whispering, but the Doctor's keen ears could hear every word. "Is he controlling you? Abusing you? Abusers always try to keep girls from their family; learned that from the telly. And I know you have a history-"

"Oh my god!" Rose interrupted loudly, "You date one arsehole when you're a teenager, and you never hear the end of your 'bad decision-making skills,' and 'Rose, you're not the best judge of people-'"

"You're an excellent judge of people!" the Doctor protested, craning his neck around Eustace.

"Look," Rose ordered, gently pushing her aunt away and standing up. "I apologize you were worried, but we didn't realize I'd been declared dead. And then we were out of touch, first because of a lost mobile phone and then because of a later incident that lasted several months. We just got wrapped up in things is all. Didn't think to come back home without Mum to visit. I can't even express how bad I feel that you thought I'd died, but the misunderstanding does not give you the right to question my relationship with my loving fiancé!" She walked over to the Doctor and put her arm around his waist, and he put his around her shoulders.

"I'm not out to hurt her, honest. Rose is nothing less than the most amazing woman I've met. I don't think I'd like the person I would be if I'd never met her." He may not be alive at all, with the state he was in after the Time War. "The roving lifestyle might not be something you understand, but it's ours. It's not something engineered to keep her away from anyone. I love her. I'd do anything in my power for her." Seeing that the older couple had listened quietly thus far, he felt brave enough to add, "And you will never accuse me of domestic abuse again if you want to see her. And that's not a threat from me; I wouldn't keep her from you."

"_I_ won't put up with it," asserted Rose, giving him a squeeze. Things cooled off after that, and the quartet were able to sit down and have a calm(ish) conversation. Rose was well-guilted for not calling for several years, for which she apologized profusely. Mary and Eustace's daughter, Mo, arrived after a short bit with her husband.

Fortunately, the reunion with Mo was mostly tears and hugging, followed by impressed exclamations over Rose's ring. The Doctor even liked her husband, a laid back chap with short, blonde hair. Beyond that, the only relatives Rose had were a few on her father's side who were estranged after his death.

After a meal and a declined offer to stay at Mo's house for the night, the Doctor and Rose made their exit. Walking back to the TARDIS, Rose apologized profusely for the domestics and chaos.

"I can't say I enjoyed being accused of emotional abuse and brainwashing by complete strangers, but it's really alright, Rose. It's not your fault." Still, she looked troubled.

"I just feel like the point of the wedding, the commitment of it, is getting lost in all the drama. I mean, it was coincidence we ran into Keisha when we did, but it got tangled in the engagement. I didn't mean for this, and I don't want to feel like I'm cheapening it."

"My dear, it was completely unavoidable. If we have to deal with the backlash of you being legally dead, we may as well get through all of it at once, right? And better before the wedding than after, when they'll feel betrayed they were never told about it. We're actually saving ourselves trouble. Besides, the worst is probably over. Shireen's all we have to talk to now, and she isn't that scary, is she?"

Rose managed a shaky smile and said, "I suppose you're right. And no; she's not as scary as my relatives, and for that matter, Keisha's softened her up for us." Suddenly, she grabbed the Doctor by the lapels and backed him into a building, kissing him hard. He fell under her assault, yielding to the invasion of her tongue and holding onto her hips for dear life.

"What was that for?" he asked when it was over, panting slightly. He'd actually forgotten to activate his respiratory bypass.

"For being wonderful. Now come on; let's buy milk so Donna doesn't get mad at us, then go home. I want to thank you properly."


	10. Party Night

**Title: **Taking the Plunge**  
Author: **Shen**  
Rating: **NC-17**  
Characters: **Rose, Ten, Donna, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto**  
Setting/Spoilers: **No spoilers whatsoever. Part of my Peril-verse (see my profile). Recap of said 'verse is at _shengirl_ _dot livejournal dot com/8390 dot html_**  
Teaser:** Trouble in paradise! The Doctor's really done it now, and his friends suggest a rather drastic solution: Marriage?!

**10: Party Night**

Rose leaned back in the pilot's chair, biting her lip absentmindedly. Her gaze lay skyward, but her mind rested entirely in her dreamworld.

'He's marrying me. I'm marrying him tomorrow. I'm marrying the Doctor!' A grin had sprung to her face during the course of the thoughts, and they concluded with a giggle. She felt giddy and possessed just a few butterflies in her stomach, like a child on her first bicycle. Except many, many times better.

"Rose, are you alright?" Rose fell from her reverie and looked in front of her, where a concerned Doctor was inches from her face. "You don't usually think dimensional stabilizers are very funny." She looked around, trying to think of an excuse for laughing, but all she saw was Donna, standing behind the Doctor and looking very amused at Rose's giggly trip to lala land.

"Since when is anything about your piloting 'stable?'" she blurted, opting for the cheap shot. The Doctor scowled, and Donna laughed.

"She makes a good point, you know. Unless last week's sojourn to the planet of bog creatures was deliberate, in which case I owe you a smack. Even the TARDIS can't get the odor out of my jacket." The Doctor turned to give Donna her portion of the Doctor Pouty Glare.

"Ha. Well, as it happens, we're almost arrived at today's destination, but if you two are going to be whiny about it..." the Doctor griped. Rose got up and hugged him from behind.

"Aw, we love you. Even if I had to bathe four times to get the smell of baked diapers, pea soup, and decaying Slitheen out of my hair." She gave him an extra squeeze to take the sting out of the words and closed them with a kiss to his neck. It bled the last of the tension out of his form, and he turned around to hug her properly. Then, the TARDIS gave a gentle shudder signifying a smooth landing, and the Doctor moved to engage the handbrake.

"So where are we?" Rose asked. Her lover just smirked and gestured to the door. Gleeful, she bounded over to it, threw it open, and feasted her eyes on- the Torchwood Hub?

"Hi, Rose!" said Gwen as she and Tosh piled into the TARDIS. Gwen hugged Rose, and then Rose hugged the shyer Toshiko, all while pleased and bewildered.

She spoke to the Doctor first, "You didn't tell me we were going to visit everyone! And what're you two carrying?" She'd just noticed that the Torchwood girls had shopping bags along.

"Honey, it's your Hen Night!" exclaimed Donna, smiling evilly. "We're popping over to London; just had to pick these girls up first. And I know Gwen's your maid of honor, but I asked she let me plan it. It was a sight easier for me than it would've been for her. Got the Doctor to get to your mobile while you were asleep, and he gave me numbers to help me invite everyone. They're meeting us when we get there."

"Really?" Delighted, Rose crushed Donna in a hug, to the older woman's half-hearted complaints. Just then, Ianto, Jack, and Owen strolled into the control room.

"What're you lot doing?" came the Doctor's mystified query. Jack's cheesiest grin appeared in response.

"We've got a silly human tradition for you, Doc."

Ianto elaborated, "Stag do."

"What, no," the Doctor sputtered. Rose laughed and pointed at him.

"Haha, they got you, too! You actually drove yourself to your own surprise." The concept was too delicious not to tease him over, but Rose also found it plain wonderful. She trusted Jack to help the Doctor relax and have a good time before their wedding, no matter how silly he felt having so much attention paid to him. The Doctor only liked being the center of attention when he called it to himself.

So it was only after much hemming and hawing that he agreed to the arrangement and took everyone to London, where the girls hopped off first. Jack and the Doctor got kisses goodbye before the gaggle of women trooped off to Martha's and Tom's house. Being a pair of doctors, plus having the sort of extra pay UNIT allotted people with Martha's unique experience, they had a nice place that was well-suited to hosting a party.

Months ago, Rose had been worried about meeting Martha for the first time. Both the Doctor and Donna had mentioned Martha's feelings for him and the ill treatment she received. To make things worse, Rose had no idea if the other woman still harbored such emotions. In light of that, Rose deliberately avoided being extra nice. If Martha was still bitter towards her, that would have seemed patronizing. Instead, she acted basically friendly, slightly crass, and fairly derogatory towards the Doctor (in a loving way). Martha joined in the down-putting, as companions are prone to doing, and the ice was broken from there.

Now, Martha greeted Rose with a hug and, "Vodka, whiskey, or beer?"

* * *

Jack pulled the Doctor out of the TARDIS by his hand, only pausing to let him lock it before hauling him down the road.

"Where are we going? And slow down; what are you, a poorly leash-trained Rottweiler?"

"You'll see!" exclaimed Jack. There was an ominous pause, in which the tapping of shoes on pavement was the only noise.

Sounding very worried, the Doctor asked, "You didn't hire a stripper, did you?"

* * *

"Jack volunteered to strip for you, but the Doctor wouldn't let him," Donna informed Rose.

"Aaaww!" whined Rose and Martha simultaneously.

Nodding sympathetically, Donna said, "Yeah, I know..." Keisha, who had arrived with Shireen a few minutes before, hummed her agreement until Gwen raised an eyebrow at all of them. Just then, before Donna could find out if the woman was honestly offended by everyone drooling over her man, the front door opened. Sarah Jane Smith waltzed through and waved at everyone.

"Hello!" she chimed in her ever-so-proper accent.

"Who are you?" asked Shireen in a way that almost managed to sound friendly. Donna guessed she was confused as to why a person of Sarah's age had come to Rose's party and if by any chance she'd found the wrong house.

Sarah answered wryly, "I'm Sarah Jane. Practically the den mother in this young group." There was an awkward pause, wherein Sarah Jane held a very serious face. "I brought the tequila." She smiled, and everyone cheered.

* * *

Jack just rolled his eyes and kept walking until they pulled up in front of a building that looked dingy on the outside.

"Laser tag?" the Doctor asked in pure surprise.

Owen clapped him on the back and said, "Don't worry, old man, we'll put you on a team with Jack. 'Snot fair to pit a pacifist against a bunch of career gun-carriers, is it?"

* * *

"Never have I ever been arrested." The speaker grinned evilly.

"Rose!" yelled Shireen, shocked.

"Goddamn you, Keisha." Rose glared over her cup as she drank, while Shireen and Keisha boggled at the fact that literally everyone in the room except themselves and Gwen took a drink. Then, the latter narrowed her eyes.

"Tosh?!"

"Oh, hush," replied the tipsy Japanese woman. "I don't have to tell a story unless I'm the only one who drinks." She took an extra swig for the hell of it.

* * *

"Hand it over," ordered Jack, holding his palm out expectantly and tapping his foot.

"Aaww, come on. Why do I have to give you my screwdriver?"

"You lost screwdriver privileges when you made your laser gun into an actual laser. It's a good thing Owen was wearing kevlar. And for that matter, how the hell did you do that? It shouldn't be possible; it's just an LED!"

"I might, um, might have used some spare parts I had in my coat. But I didn't mean to make it that strong! It was just supposed to feel a little warm. I mean, loud noises and blinking lights, while annoying, aren't the most exciting ways of telling someone they've been shot, are they? I thought some added stimuli would be nice." Jack remained deadpan.

"Uh-huh. Well, maybe that's enough violent excitement for you tonight. Change of plans: disable your weapon before some hapless kid hurts himself, then come on. We're going back to the TARDIS so you can use some of your special stash to pregame for the bar. It'll take far too long to get you drunk on human liquor."

* * *

Rose leaned on Donna while they walked back to the TARDIS, the bride a ways past tipsy. It had been a well-planned, entertaining evening where everyone but Donna and Rose had brought food or drink, they'd played card and drinking games, and then they'd settled into a movie. The Torchwood crowd was staying the night in the TARDIS because, while Rose originally considered a Cardiff wedding, the London area seemed more practical. Cardiff was a home away from TARDIS, but London had friends and family who couldn't be ferried by space ship. Then, when Rose realized she could get married in the same park her parents had, the idea went from "practical" to "perfect."

"I love you, Donna. I dun... I dunno what I'd do without you. You're the best."

"Love you, too, blondie," Donna responded with mixed amusement and exasperation.

Rose continued to slur, "Thanks for helpin' plan my wedding. And fer booze. And for distractin' the Doctor sometimes so's I can sleep." Donna threw a gaze backwards to make sure Gwen and Tosh were still trailing behind them somewhere before speaking.

"You do the same for me, though I imagine your way of distractin's more fun," she joked. However, Rose put on a little frown, making the older woman suddenly concerned.

"You won't leave us, will you? I'll... I'll keep the Doctor from finding your biscuit stashes. I know tha's irritatin'." She was looking up at Donna blearily, and Donna's heart twinged. At some point, this drunken bottle blonde had become family; it was pleasant to see that the feeling ran both ways. She squeezed her charge around the shoulders affectionately.

"I'm not going anywhere, twit. A bad day with you two's better than any good day as a temp." Rose smiled and squeezed her back, content.

When they reached the TARDIS, they found the Doctor snoozing on the captain's chair and Jack leaning against a coral pillar.

"What happened to him?" asked Donna.

"I had him drink some special liquor. Then, it didn't seem to be working fast enough, so I made him drink some more. Turns out it's sort of... slow-release in his system. We sat at the pub, watched some university students act stupid, played pool, and got some really great male bonding done until Mr. Mouth over there got truly sloshed." Rose snorted and snickered.

"Lemme guess. Started tellin' stories?" she asked gleefully. Jack nodded.

Flatly, he elaborated, "Yeah. Did you know he got hit on by Shakespeare? Or that the first time he had ice cream was when he was 119? Did you hear every detail about it? Oh! Did you hear about the time he actually landed his ship on the Wicked Witch of the East? Though I'm pretty sure he was making that one up." Rose was cracking up at this point, and Donna had a case of the giggles herself. She would definitely have to get the Doctor drunk one day; it sounded hilarious.

"Luckily, drowsiness is the second stage of Time Lord intoxication, so I walked him back here. He only made it as far as the chair, though." Rose waved her hand nonchalantly.

"He'll be fine. Thanks for walking me back, Donna. Make sure the other two get in alright, Jack; I'm headed off to bed."

"See you tomorrow, beautiful," replied Jack with a soft smile.

"Not if I see you first!" she called down the hall.


	11. Blue and Gold

**Title: **Taking the Plunge**  
Author: **Shen**  
Rating: **NC-17**  
Characters: **Rose, Ten, Donna, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto**  
Setting/Spoilers: **No spoilers whatsoever. Part of my Peril-verse (see my profile). Recap of said 'verse is at _shengirl_ _dot livejournal dot com/8390 dot html_**  
Teaser:** Trouble in paradise! The Doctor's really done it now, and his friends suggest a rather drastic solution: Marriage?!

**Author's Note:** This one's illustrated! Link attempted to be included. It's also at my Deviantart, which is linked in my profile.

**11: Blue and Gold**

"Rose, wake up." Donna whispered. She waited a moment. Less patiently, she tried, "Up and at 'em, sweetheart; you're getting married."

"Nnnng." Donna snickered.

"The Doctor left you some hangover brew," she whispered conspiratorially. That finally lifted the blonde's disheveled head from the pillow.

"God I love that man."

* * *

As Rose approached the kitchen, she heard the sound of rubber soles beating on grating.

"That'll be him running away," Donna commented wryly, and Rose rolled her eyes. Having heard that seeing the bride the day of the wedding was bad luck, the Doctor viewed it as a delightful tradition of hide and go seek. And, judging by the waves of amusement and slight taunting the TARDIS was generating, he was having the ship help him evade.

In the spirit of the "game," Rose left the TARDIS and its passengers at the wedding site and arrived on Shireen's doorstep, hair damp, garment bag in hand, and clad in a shirt. The button-down would save her hair from the ravages of a t-shirt collar when it came time to change.

"Oh, look at you, smiley!" a giddy Shireen teased upon opening the door, punctuating the greeting with a hug. Rose said nothing, unsure of how to explain the lingering hilarity that was the source of her smirk. She'd exited the TARDIS to see a flash of brown fall behind a bush, Jack staring at it blankly. Then hearing the shrubbery yell indignantly about bad luck and cheating. That image might crack her and Donna up for weeks.

Still; she needn't have worried; her friend didn't wait for a response before setting Rose's garment bag inside the flat and bodily hauling her to the nail salon. Rose then had the alarming and embarrassing experience of simultaneously receiving a manicure and having her hyper friend set curlers into her damp locks, leaving her feeling harassed.

Later, however, she would look at Shireen's handiwork in the mirror and decide it was worth it.

* * *

The Doctor looked over everything one last time. This was it. And, as far as weddings went, he thought it was turning out rather well. Their marriage process wasn't exactly typical, but they weren't a typical couple. They skipped a lot of the frills of a traditional one, which suited them both, and he loved Rose all the more for not making him jump through endless domestic hoops. No rehearsal dinner, no engagement party, no shower, and a shorter ceremony. They hadn't even needed to find a licensed wedding site, since Rose remained legally dead, and he didn't exist. Instead, a section of park had been reserved for the day.

The TARDIS had located eight white benches with ornate armrests in her depths, each big enough for about three people. The Doctor and the others had arranged them in two rows, with generous space between them so Rose would have more than two steps down the "aisle." Ribbon of gold and pale blue lined the outside of the rows, and the aisle side of each bench had a few white daisies and a blue or gold bow affixed. Someone had even located a white lattice arch to set at the fore, for Jack to stand in front of while he gave the ceremony. They'd elected to not have more than a best "man," Donna, and a maid of honor, Gwen, who each wore a black and white dress. Had the couple employed a more normal number of bridesmaids and groomsmen, there would be more people on the "altar" than in the seats, after all.

Eight benches and an arch in the grass, with 5 people at the altar. Perfect in its simplicity, its thrown-together elegance fitting for them. The Doctor himself wore his usual tuxedo. To his relief, Rose hadn't asked him to comb his hair differently or even wear shoes that weren't his Converse. Actually, she had been quite insistent that he not mess with his hair. Rather, the only difference in his outfit was that he wore a gold-colored bow tie instead of black. That small thing he conceded gladly.

Finally, he had cheated a bit to pick a bright day with mild temperature. The sun shone at the audience's back at an angle, leaving no one blinded.

The time nearing, everyone got in their places, including their audience of Owen, Toshiko, Ianto, Keisha, Mitch, Keisha's brother Jay, Sarah Jane, Luke, Martha, Tom, Mary, Eustace, Mo, Mo's husband, Wilf, and Shireen's mother and one of Jackie's friends, people that had been like aunts to Rose. Suddenly, Shireen appeared out of the path, swiftly finding her seat and waving to the Doctor. Ianto used a remote to start the music playing.

From behind the trees appeared a vision. Rose stood for a moment, smiling shyly in her dress of pale blue and white. Secretly, the wedding colors of blue and gold had been chosen because they were a mesh of their auras, his blue and brown and her red and gold (and wouldn't red and brown have been ghastly?). In her case, the bodice was silky and blue, sleeveless and embroidered with small white flowers and vines. The white skirt seemed to wrap and gather to one side at a blue ruffle resembling a flower, and its underside was also blue. Her hair had been swept up in a lovely fashion by Shireen, a wavy fringe left outside the hold. One side was held at bay by a gold-colored clip, and the outfit was finished off by a gold necklace with a darker blue stone and earrings. Sure but unhurried in her step, Rose walked up the aisle, sunlight glinting off her hair and alabaster skin and leaving him so dazzled he didn't notice himself reaching for her proffered hand. It was only as it entwined with his that his sizable brain caught up with his body and realized he was grinning madly. Rose returned the toothy smile, and they turned to face Jack. The music stopped.

IMAGE: _i253 dot photobucket dot com/albums/hh52/shengirl/weddingcopy dot jpg_

She was dizzy with happiness, and it was contagious. He could practically see her glowing, while he was almost vibrating with energy. Shockingly excited. The battle had been pitched, but domesticity had finally won the war in the quarter of love and weddings. (But hell if it'd ever see him in a minivan. He had standards.)

* * *

Rose stood with the Doctor at her side, in front of friends and family. Time was, she never thought she'd be here, and to be proven wrong overloaded her with joy. She could even feel that he was happy, truly happy to be where he was and not just going through the motions for her benefit. She squeezed his hand once in thanks as they grinned at Jack. The blue-eyed man returned the expression in kind.

"Welcome, everyone. We're gathered here today to declare the lifelong union of my dear friends, the Doctor and Rose Tyler. We all know these are not vows to be entered into lightly. However, do not doubt my confidence in this couple. Their affection was constantly apparent before romance ever bloomed, and their devotion has tested sure and strong in many instances since. That in mind, I ask, does anyone protest this union?" Silence greeted the traditional query. Rose was proud of Jack's delivery, voice dignified and projected for all to hear. The man could be very classy when he wanted, and he cut quite a figure in his tuxedo. He looked around the small audience carefully, then smiled.

"Excellent. Now the bride and the groom will exchange vows, as decided upon by themselves." He nodded to the pair, and they turned to look at each other. Rose's heart tap-danced in her throat as the Doctor began to speak.

"Rose. You're the most important person to me. You saved me, in many ways, and I'll never forget it. I promise to stay with you, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, every step of the journey, if you'll have me."

"I-" Rose squeaked, then quietly cleared her throat. "I will. Doctor. You rescued me as well, from the life I once knew. With you, my day to day became the extraordinary. I promise to stay with you, for better or for worse, in any face, each step of the journey, if you'll have me."

"Try and get rid of me," he responded softly but cheerily. Grinning like a loon, Jack clapped his hands once.

"Beautiful. If you could exchange rings?" Gwen and Donna handed rings to the couple, bands of white gold. The Doctor took Rose's hand and looked into her eyes.

"With this ring, I do thee wed." He slipped it onto her finger, where it sat snugly against her engagement ring. She then took his left hand.

"I pledge you my forever." She carefully slid the band onto his finger. When she looked up, he was blurry to her watering eyes but beautiful in his elation nonetheless.

Jack stated merrily, "I declare this couple wed, with all the joy and responsibility entailed. You may now kiss the bride." Their lips met firmly. Then, breaking convention somewhat, the Doctor picked his bride off the ground and twirled her before taking her hand and running down the short aisle. At the end, they hugged tightly, and the Doctor called out at the audience over Rose's shoulder.

"Well, come on then! Let's party!"

The lighthearted crowd moved to a cluster of picnic tables with cloth-covered benches, behind which sat a longer table blanketed with covered food, plates, utensils, and a cake. The confection was two-tiered, each tier lined with edible ball bearings in yellow and blue. At the top sat a simplistic little pair of wedding figures, and behind them stood a wooden blue block, taller than either figure (undoubtedly to the silent confusion of several wedding guests).

Everyone dined on roast beef and its usual accouterments, cake, champagne (all delivered by a caterer just before the ceremony), and banoffee pie (provided by Martha, to the Doctor's glee). Sometime before cake and after a glass or two of champagne, Donna made her best man speech.

"Excuse me, everyone!" She tapped her fork against her glass and put on a slightly buzzed smile. "I'd like to make a toast. These are two fantastic friends of mine. You'd never look at a stickman of a nerd like the Doctor and think, 'That man can change my life.' But he can. And I don't mean in a squishy, romantic way; that's just for blonde Londoners. No, there are a number of people here who can tell you about how the Doctor has a... unique and contagious way of living. But that's not to sell the bride short! It takes quite a woman to handle a giant, know-it-all kid like the Doctor. I know I've slapped him enough. More than that, she's sweet and nice and quick on her feet, in more ways than one. They're a great match. And they're the best couple a single girl could live with. To the Doctor and Rose." She sat back down and caught the mostly good-natured glares the couple were giving her.

The Doctor remarked dryly, "Thank you for the backhanded show of sisterly love, Donna." At that, the woman just snorted.

"Space man, you're just lucky Rose's family are here, or I'd have brought out the blackmail. I think the story about how you two sang 'You're the One that I Want' from _Grease_ to get out of being electrocuted by tentacled duck people is very demonstrative of your relationship." Rose shuddered at that memory and took another sip of champagne. Meanwhile, the Doctor opened his mouth, presumably to give an indignant response, but he stopped and closed it again.

"Actually, considering that we ended up running away because the hooting in the 'hoo hoo hoo, honey' part replicated their battle cry, you're distressingly right."

"'Meditate in my direction' is also kinda... apt, innit?" added Rose dismally.

"Hate to complain about your party," Owen said as he sauntered up, "but there's not much to chat up here. Everyone's either taken or old. Except Shireen, but I don't think she likes me much. Probably, the 'Don't weddings make you horny?' line was the wrong approach." Everyone stared at him. "What?" he asked, oblivious.

Biting back an exasperated sigh, Rose suggested, "Go ask Tosh to dance, Owen." He blinked.

"I hadn't thought of that. May as well keep each other company; it's not like she'll be getting any action either. I tell you, that _Wedding Crashers_ movie's a right lie."

"You're right, neither of you will be getting any at this rate," Donna agreed in a patronizing tone. Owen just gave her an irritated look and walked off.

Once he was out of earshot, Rose commented, "I swear he has, like, some kind of metaphorical horse blinders on. The way things are going, I think we should just give Tosh a club to smack him with."

Donna said, "Except he doesn't have enough hair to drag him by. She'd never make it to her cave – or flat, rather."

"What are we talking about?" the Doctor whined, confused. Donna and Rose each patted one of his arms and nodded sympathetically at his obliviousness. Then, before he could comment further, Rose sweetly asked him to dance.

* * *

To be concluded with smut.


	12. Honeymoon

**Title: **Taking the Plunge**  
Author: **Shen**  
Rating: **NC-17**  
Characters: **Rose, Ten, Donna, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto**  
Setting/Spoilers: **No spoilers whatsoever. Part of my Peril-verse (see my profile). Recap of said 'verse is at _shengirl_ _dot livejournal dot com/8390 dot html_**  
Teaser:** Trouble in paradise! The Doctor's really done it now, and his friends suggest a rather drastic solution: Marriage?!

**Author's Note:** It's a long one, but that's because there's porn, which takes up a certain amount of space, and not-porn, because I just can't kick my plot-writing habit. But please, tell me what you think! I've written enough smut I should be decent at it by now, so if something's off, let me know.

**Chapter 12: Honeymoon**

The Doctor and Rose weren't alone right away after the wedding. After bidding the last relative goodbye, they went to fetch the TARDIS for cleanup. Only the Doctor was needed to pilot it, but Rose couldn't wait to put normal clothes on, even if she did love her dress. However, three steps from the door, the Doctor suddenly grabbed her around the waist and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"What're you doing?" she sputtered. She could practically feel his smirk, even if all she could see was his cute bum.

"I'm carrying you over the threshold! You do that when you get married, right?" he asked cheekily. Rose slapped his rear end. Chuckling, he put her down carefully, then pulled her into a kiss before she could let off the smart-aleck comment she had lying in wait. By the time he let her go, it had fled her entirely. She opened her eyes. Of course, he stood and grinned smugly, and the ire-induced commentary was reinventing itself in her mind when he spoke.

"I love you." And it all dissolved into smoke. Cheater.

"I hate you," she countered with false petulance. Heedless of it, he swung her up into his arms – the proper way this time – and carried her smiling form into the TARDIS.

* * *

Hours later, the benches were back in the depths of the ship, the seat covers and tablecloth were in the wash, flowers were left on Jackie's "grave," and everyone was dropped off at home. Clean and changed, Rose and the Doctor fell back onto their bed.

"Good day?" he asked. She grinned at the ceiling and stretched.

"Perfect day."

"Feel any different?"

"Actually-" she stopped to yawn, "a bit, yeah." And she did, at least for the night. She had been a bride today, and now the Doctor wore something that would warn off any women or men who knew what it meant. That he was taken, for keeps. Possessive of her, perhaps, but she had an inkling that the Doctor felt the same about her own ring. So, she rolled over and curled up to his side, throwing an arm and a leg over his frame.

"All mine," she teased. Then she yawned again. A kiss on the forehead greeted her at the end of it.

Softly, he suggested, "Tell you what. When you wake up, we'll be somewhere wonderful."

"But it's the wedding night! I'm not too tired to consummate it," she protested. The Doctor gave a little snort.

"Consummate it, eh?" he asked wryly. She smiled against his shirt.

"Fine, you skinny pedant. I'm not too tired to re-consummate my relationship with you. Besides, I'm sure it's unlucky or something, to skip the wedding night."

"Well then, it's lucky we're in a TARDIS, where day and night don't exist. Sleep now," he ordered, then lowered his voice to seductively add, "I want you at your peak when I get my hands on you next. Alright?" She shivered at his tone and nodded. In fewer than ten minutes, she was asleep.

* * *

Having woken alone and gotten ready for the day in an empty TARDIS, Rose stood in its door. The Doctor said she'd wake up somewhere wonderful. She'd been half afraid of walking onto a planet full of denim-hating, pitchfork-carrying midgets and finding the Doctor hanging upside-down in their square for eating a pastry without the proper utensil or something. But he had delivered.

The ship was clearly in a docking bay, but the view was spectacular. Above the drab mechanics of the airlock doors was a window spanning the wall, and outside seemed to be some kind of very thick atmosphere. Light blue and orange were the chief colors, with swirls and lines of dark pink and yellow threaded into the patterns. Enough light filtered through the soupy clouds that Rose figured the planet's sun was either very close or very large, but the temperature inside the structure was comfortable. Well-lit by artificial sources, as well.

"Don't crane your neck to look out that little porthole," came the Doctor's voice, "The entire outer hull of this dome is made of transparent alloy, airlocks excluded of course." He walked up to her side and took her hand.

"Really?"

"Yep. It's a giant dome on a stilt, though not a sphere. Sort of... pie-shaped. Like if you took a clay ball and flattened it down some. No corners." He let her grab the bag she'd previously packed and led her through the resort towards the room he'd just secured, explaining as he went. The planet's ground wasn't very hospitable, and the atmosphere certainly wasn't breathable, but the beauty of its sky and the wildlife that dwelt within it made for quite an attraction. The dome itself was made up of several floors, the outer edges of them designated for dance floors, restaurants, and activity areas for games, crafts, lessons or whatever. The inner sections held spas, pools, and hotel rooms, though their own room would actually have a window to the outside. That sort of thing was at a premium, but they did get the Honeymoon Suite.

The couple walked in just in time to see a long, sinuous creature glide by the window, catfish-like feelers on its mouth and undulating as if swimming rather than flying. Rose gasped.

"You'll see a lot of that this week. We can even sit through a lesson on the wildlife of this planet if you want," he suggested cheerily. Rose smiled broadly at him.

"Maybe we can. And I can't wait to explore this place; thank you!" She hugged him tightly.

"So I did good?" he asked. Rather than answer him, Rose pulled back and dragged him downwards, planting a firm kiss on his lips. She felt him infinitesimally stiffen in shock at being so manhandled before melting into it.

"Keep your eyes closed," she murmured at their parting, still close enough to feel his lips form a slow smile. Opening her own eyes, she saw that he was obeying for the moment, so she quickly knelt at her bag. A minute later, she said his name. His eyes opened, then widened dramatically. She stood before him in black negligé, most opaque at at her breasts and then only barely. A hand resting on her hip, she regarded him smugly.

"So I did good?" she asked. He closed his previously-gaping gob and nodded. A few predatory steps she took then, and a kiss. But as his tongue darted out to request entrance, she pulled away. He followed at first, then gave her a small pout, but her attention was already elsewhere. She unbuttoned his jacket and slipped it off his shoulders, letting it fall to the ground as he shook it off. His tie was loosened next, and she took advantage of his always-unbuttoned top button to give some gratuitous attention to his throat. As she did, the Doctor's head rolled back, and his hands ran up her back, chilling her through her sheer garment.

Still not speaking, Rose turned them so the Doctor's back was to the bed, then pressed him towards it, kissing his face, nipping his neck, and ending with a solid snog on the mouth as they reached it. She ground her pelvis into him, drawing a muffled groan as he bucked back into her. Suddenly, her arms deserted him, pushed him back, and he fell onto the mattress with an appreciative _whuf_. His long legs still dangled over the edges, but it was all the better to swiftly undo his belt and trousers and tug them off, along with his shoes. Pants went next, with his eager cooperation. She could feel how aroused he was, even without looking at his straining member. Such was their connection, she could even hear his heartbeats pounding in his ears as he stared at her, kneeling between his legs. He wanted. An answering ache began to cry out from her own center, but it would wait.

She grabbed his penis and made as if to take him wholly into her mouth, but a hot breath away, she stopped. He whimpered, making her smile cheekily up at him. Continued to do so, his member lightly in hand.

"You're rotten to the core," he admonished her after several seconds. At that, she winked.

"You knew we humans were bad news. Only yourself to blame," she teased, but her lips caressed the inside of his thigh, soft as silk. She kissed along until her nose bumped his testicles, then licked them, took one into her mouth and sucked lightly before pressing it back out her lips. She heard his head fall back onto the mattress hard. Then, at last, she took one slow lap up the underside of his manhood. He sighed happily, and a bubble of love abruptly welled up in her chest. In her affection, she decided to display some mercy, so she licked him just a few more times before taking him into her mouth. Keeping him encased in her wet heat, her tongue swirled and laved languidly, down his length and under, firmly over, or ever-so-slowly up and around his head, until she could feel his leg muscles tense beside her cheek. Next, she plunged him deeper into her mouth, to one side so could lavish attention on the other. Then, at his whimpering, switched to the other cheek for a minute before backing off. Her hand began to pump him in rhythm as her mouth and other hand toyed with his balls once more. When small gasps began to issue from his form, she gave some slow, purposeful licks up his penis before taking it into her mouth again. However, it wasn't long before he gently pushed her away.

"Doctor?" she asked, looking up at him at last. His face was flushed, eyes dilated, and hair a completely lost cause from writhing into the mattress. Beautiful in his dishevelment.

"You are too good at that, and on that note, you'd best stop," he said, breathing slightly elevated but with a smile on his face. "A wife of mine deserves a mutually fulfilling wedding night." As he must have known it would, his use of the w-word only increased the ache between her legs. Through their link, he felt it and smirked. Tugged her to her feet before him as he stood to kiss her. They stayed that way for a few minutes, taking turns visiting and caressing the nooks of each other's mouths. It was a knowing, comfortable kiss but nothing to smother the flame of arousal flaring up in them both.

Eventually, the Doctor turned them around and gently shoved Rose onto the bed, putting her in the position he'd just left. Throwing off his shirt, he leaned over her and dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose. She giggled, and it turned into a sigh as he kissed her cheeks and nuzzled her neck. Her fingers began to lightly scratch his back and tangle in his hair as he went about leaving a mark on the skin where her neck met her shoulder. Well, if he wanted to mark her as his even further, she couldn't argue, though she would have to return the favor later.

His work done, the Doctor kissed her lips three times; short, teasing pecks that left her wanting more, and he was gone. Quite suddenly, his hands were running down her thighs and back up, pushing her negligé out of his way. She spread her legs further to him, and he leaned forward to taste her clit. Her eyes closed, the feeling jolted like lightning through her chest. God, the things that man could do with his tongue. A sexy alien who would scoff at the challenge of tying a knot in a cherry stem; sometimes she marveled at how she hit the jackpot.

After such a shocking tease to start, he trailed his tongue lower, making a more leisurely exploration of her depths. He made slow love to her with his tongue, lapping and twirling to stir up an assortment of warm, trembly feelings in her stomach. Next, he slid upwards again to caress the bundle of nerves there.

"God-" Rose whimpered shortly, "you should seriously make an in- ah, ahhh that's mean, when I'm talking to you – make an instructional video or something." Did she just say that? And she made fun of his babbling.

To her dismay, the Doctor paused his zealous pushing of all the right buttons to teasingly say, "So you're either volunteering to be in pornography with me or asking me to do this to someone else." Oh, honestly, that bastard knew she couldn't think straight when he was doing that to her.

"I didn't mean- oh, shut up," her fuzzy mind managed to conjure. He smiled heatedly.

"Yes, ma'am." His renewed attentions hit her like a lorry, and one hand fisted in the duvet. Side to side over and past the nub, then an ever-shrinking circle around it. Her remaining hand began to stroke and grasp his hair in turns, while his hands held her twitching hips to the mattress. Her orgasm coiled tight in her abdomen, and the Doctor's ministrations took on a focused fervor. Flicks, one slow lick, and some intense swirling, and he knew to put pressure right _there_, and before she knew it her climax sprang upon her.

More babbled nonsense, as well as some profanity, tumbled from her mouth, bypassing her rational brain entirely, but he didn't tease this time. Instead, he held her through it and rode the wave of her pleasure in his own mind, doused in her unique red and gold.

Rose, flat on her back, was concentrating on taking deep breaths, but one look down at the Doctor made the air hitch in her throat. Goaded by the night's events and electrified by her shared energy, he was awash in fiery want. She held out a hand, an invitation.

"I love you. Thank you for that. But I need you, Doctor." She said the last in a low, seductive tone, and it was more than the approval he needed. He stood, bent to press her proffered hand into the mattress, and gave in to her request. His slow push into her body was sweet agony on her sensitized flesh, and she and the Doctor both moaned quietly. He put on a slow rhythm, apparently wanting to savor the act. He kissed her captured hand before freeing it, then carefully stood straighter and put her ankles on his shoulders.

It was a precarious position, the angle teetering on painfully too-deep and frankly amazing. But Rose trusted him and was rewarded with oh god so good, on the cusp of pain but apart from it, yes just there please... but as hot as it was, she wanted her hands on his shoulders, or possibly her mouth, not her ankles. She needed to be closer.

"Hey, switch?" she asked breathily. He smiled slowly, then let her legs down. Plunged into her hard, making her cry out as he bent over her to swallow the noise. They kissed, each fervently drinking the other in, interrupted only by their moans as he continued to thrust. She, in turn, pressed up to meet him, basking in the closeness and passion.

Eventually, he tugged her into a sitting position and said, "Come on, I have a better idea. This bed's a bit short anyway."

"What did you have in mind?" she asked, only to squeak in surprise as he pulled her legs tighter around his waist, slipped his hands under her bum, and lifted. Surprised, she still had the presence of mind to cling to his shoulders and rest a good portion of weight there. It wasn't a long trip, however; he pressed her against the nearest wall with a hard thrust that wrung a deep gasp from her. Not a slow rhythm this time; he pushed into her hard and fast, drawing high-pitched cries and moaning from them both. Rose could feel her muscles twitch as she dug her nails into his shoulders, her breath coming fast as he bent his neck and rested his forehead on her chin. Shimmering blue and brown hovered at the edge of her vision, then swamped it as she cried out his name, his ragged voice only a moment behind hers.

Very carefully, he let her down, and they hugged and breathed, leaning against the wall.

"Wow," she whispered, tracing soft ovals on his back. He kissed her neck, then pressed his lips to hers sweetly.

"You think that'll do, to save us the bad luck?" he asked. Rose giggled, then kissed him soundly.

* * *

Rose lay in bed, the Doctor spooned up behind her and snoozing for once. The past few days ran through her mind, her family and friends in particular. She would leave most of them behind, eventually, aging as slowly as she was now. The family sooner than the friends, if she had to fake her own death again to spare them the secret. Shireen and Keisha she might be able to tell eventually, but that was a problem for another day.

Still, depressing though the thoughts were, it wasn't all bad. None of it would be a worry for a while, and she firmly believed in enjoying the moment. And she would have Donna for a long time, Jack even longer. Hell, how could she complain, when her friend was going to live forever? And, of course, she had the Doctor.

"Snnnnxx- pear pastry, no-" the Doctor snored then muttered quietly before going silent again. It took a phenomenal force of will to hold in her snorting laugh, just shaking against him gently.

Life was good for now. And as long as she had the Doctor, pains of a long lifespan or no, she wouldn't have it any other way.

END


End file.
